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E R R A T A . 

On the 71 h page. 4th line, after "that" insert the word 
" the;" also in the la*t line of first paragraph, for " Mill Ex- 
tractor,'' read " Mell Extractor;'' 8th page, fourth line, for 
" thribble " read " treble;" 10th page, ninth line from bottom 
for " antenna " read " antennas:" 12th page, third line, for 
"acknowledge." read "acknowledged:" same page, in ex 
planation of cut, for " formally hatched " read "formerly 
hatched;" 14th page, tenth line from bottom, for " antenna " 
read "antenna?;" 16th page, third line, for "covex" read 
•' convex.'' 

There are many other slight errors in the work, hut gen- 
erally 1 he reader will be able to arrive at the true meaning 
without further explanation 



THE FARMERS' 



0TJIDE 



BEE KEEPING. 






BEING A PRACTICAL TREATISE IN EVERY DEPARTMENT OF 
BEE CULTURE AND BEE MANAGEMENT. 



Bv H. M. JOHNSON. 

PRACTICAL APICITLTUBIST. MABBHALU MICK. 



ANN ARBOR: 
CoiKiER Steam Printing House, 

.872. 



THE FARMERS' GUIDE 

TO 

BEE KEEPING 



BEING A PRACTICAL TREATISE IN 



BEE CULTURE 



A NTD BEE MANAGEMENT, 



By H. M. JOHNSON, 

Practical Apiculturist, Marshall, Michigan. 



!*£££ 



ANN ARBOR: 
Courier Steam Printing House. 







Simple Movable Comb Hive. 



Entered according to act of Congress in the year 1S72, 

By H. M. JOHNSON, 

In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. 



o * 



PREFACE. 



In offering this little work to the American public, . 
the author's object is to supply the great deficiency in 
reliable apiarian literature : having himself felt the ne- 
cessity of such information, on many occasions; and 
fully believing that thousands of others often experience 
the same want ; he has been induced to compile and ar- 
range all the facts known, in regard to apiculture, up to 
the present time; together with his own experience 
which has not been small. 

It is his design to present all the necessary practical 
information for the keeping and culture of the honey 
bee, together with the secret of making them produce 
the greatest possible amount of honey, in such a simple 
and concise form, that any one may readily understand 
it, and be enabled to profit by it. 

We are not writing a book for the critical scientist, 
or theoretical apiculturist, but for the ordinary bee 
keepers of the land. So that every individual, who may 
have but a single colony, may be able to know how to 
make it the most useful and productive, as well as he 
who devotes his whole time and energy to the business. 

The proper care and culture of bees is becoming 
every year not only more of a science, but more of a 
business, and hence the greater the necessity of a brief 



practical work, which will be within the reach of all, 
and easily understood by the common people. 

Much of the information in regard to bee keeping, 
as given in the ordinary periodicals of the day, is not re- 
liable, as many persons, with but little knowledge, and 
less experience, often imagine that they have made some 
new and wonderful discovery, straightway herald it forth 
and thereby deceive the inexperienced and unsuspect- 
ing, while others having some particular hive, or other 
article to sell, use their book as an advertising medium, 
and quite too often mislead and deceive. 

The instruction and experience of one who has 
made it a study, and who has been a practical apicul- 
turist for years, alone should be considered reliable. 
The author claims that he has presented more real prac- 
tical information on this important and interesting sub- 
ject, than can be found in any other work of the size, or 
that can be purchased in any other way for the same 
amount of money. We have laid before the public the 
great advantage of the newly invented machine called 
the " Honey Extractor," used for removing honey from 
the comb. A knowledge of this one thing is worth to 
every bee-keeper many times the price of the book. 

Hoping that this little treatise may awaken in the 
minds of its readers, a new interest, as to the science, 
pleasure, and profit of collecting and storing the sweets 
distilled in the alembic of the bright-hued flowers, and 
assist those already engaged in the business, whether to 
a greater or less extent, and desiring that the " Little 
Busy Bee " may be better understood, more highly ap- 
preciated, better treated and cared for, it is sent forth 
upon its mission. H. M. JOHNSON. 

Marshall, Mich., Nov. 1871. 



MEMOIR OF HUBER. 



MEMOIR OF HUBER, 



Francis Huber, who was born at Geneva, July, 2d, 
1750, is held by all writers on the science of bee cul- 
ture, to be the prince of apiarians. His father pos- 
sessed a decided taste for the study of natural science, 
which taste was transmitted to the son. In boyhood 
his attention was called to what, in later years, became 
his sole and engrossing pursuit, an investigation of the 
habits and economy of the honey-bee, and no writer, 
either ancient or modern has displayed so much sagacity, 
perseverance, and accuracy of experiment as Francis 
Huber. 

By his admiration for the writings of Reaumur, and 
through the assistance and encouragement of his friend 
Bonnet, he pursued his favorite study with such intense 
ardor as to superinduce a weakness of the visual organs, 
which eventually terminated in total blindness. His 
misfortune, however, did not present an inseperable 
obstacle to the successful study of his favorite science. 
He procured the services of Francis Burnens, who is said 
to have been an uneducated peasant. Huber took great 
pains in cultivating the naturally acute mind of the 
young man, in directing his researches, and accustom- 
ing him to rigorous accuracy. A single instance will 
illustrate the precision with which Huber required him 
to conduct his experiments. On a certain occasion it 
became necessary to examine separately all the bees in 
two hives. Burnens spent eleven days in performing 



6 MEMOIR OF HUBER. 

this work, and during the entire time he allowed himself 
no relaxation but what was necessary for the relief of 
his eyes. 

Huber was assisted in his researches not only In 
Burnens but by his own wife ; to whom he was betrothed 
before the loss of his sight, and who nobly persisted 
in marrying him, notwithstanding his sad misfortune 
and the strenuous dissuasions of her friends. She de- 
clared to her parents that although she would have 
readily submitted to their will, if the man of her choice 
could have done without her ; yet, as he now required 
the attendance of a person who loved him, nothing 
should prevent her from becoming his wife ; according- 
ly as soon as she had attained the age, which she imag- 
ined gave her the right to decide for herself, she united 
her fate with that of Huber. They lived long in the en- 
joyment of great domestic happiness. She was spared 
to him over forty years; to him " she was eyes to the 
blind," his reader, his secretary, his observer. He 
said in his old age, that during her life, he was not sen- 
sible of his misfortune. 

The last days of Huber's life were soothed by the 
affectionate attentions of his daughter, with whom he 
was then living, and in whose arms he died Dec. 22(1, 
1 83 1, in the eighty-first year of his age. 

The world owes more to Huber for the advance- 
ment of the science of bee keeping than to any other 
man ; and having myself repeatedly verified his most im- 
portant observations, I take great delight in holding him 
up to my countrymen and friends as the Prince of 
Apiarians. 



FUNDAMENTAL POINTS IN BEE KEEPING. 7 

CHAPTER I. 

FUNDAMENTAL POINTS IN BEE-KEEPING. 

I believe all practical Apiarians of the present day 
have decided that there are three fundamental points to 
be observed, in order to render bee-keeping a success. 
But I think the most of them will agree with me, that 
fourth has been introduced, which not only insures suc- 
cess, ,but adds greatly to the profit of apiculture \ and 
upon these four points rests its perfect success, viz : the 
man ; the movable comb hive ; the season and the honey 
machine or " Mill Extractor." 

The man should be thoroughly acquainted with 
and understand the nature and working of the bee to 
enable him to manage them profitably. When I say 
man, I mean the operator whether it be man or woman, 
old or young. If you will follow me through this little 
manual, I pledge you that you will, with a little prac- 
tice, be able to perform your part. 

He should then have a hive that will answer all his 
needs in every department of bee culture, and in the 
making or procuring of hives he should aim at simplici- 
ty. That is the best motto I have to recommend. 

The season we have no control over. If the season 
is unpropitious, the knowledge of the man, and the per- 
fection of the hive combined, will insure a greater 
amount of honey than might be expected in a good sea- 
son with a defective hive and bad management. 



8 farmers' guide to bee keeping. 

The honey machine is acknowledged by all practi- 
cal bee-keepers to be the greatest improvement to the 
science, since the invention of the moveable comb hive, 
by the use of which we claim to double and even thribble 
the quantity of honey obtained over the old method. 

WHAT CONSTITUTES A SWARM OF BEES. 

Every prosperous swarm or family of bees must con- 
tain one queen, several thousand workers, and a portion 
of the year, a few hundred, or even thousand drones. If 
there were present but a pint of bees it would constitute 
a swarm, or if there were twenty thousand it would be 
no more than a swarm ; if it contained a queen, work- 
ers and drones. They can only flourish when associated 
in large numbers as in a colony. In a solitary state, a 
single bee is almost as helpless as a new born child, be- 
ing paralyzed by the chilling of a cool summer night. 

We will now proceed to describe the different bees 
which constitute a swarm ; how they are raised, their 
size, shape, color, duties, and the labors of each. 




DESCRIPTION OF THE BEES. 

CHAPTER II. 

DESCRIPTION OF THE QUEEN. 

The accompanying cut will illustrate 
the appearance of this most important 
personage of the industrious colony. She 
was styled by the ancients the King Bee ; 
and even at the present day she is called 
the King by those who know almost noth- 
ing of the tiny harvesters who are so in- 
Queen. dustriously storing their homes with the 
liquid nectar, which they alone can glean, and who never 
see the busy workers within the deep recesses of their 
waxen walls, but who still persist in keeping their bees 
in the old box hive, never having sight of the Queen ex- 
cept by accident when swarming the new colony. 

Careful and scientific observation conducted by 
men who have made the study of the bee their life-long 
business, like Huber, have proved that the Queen is the 
only perfect female bee in the colony, and hence the 
name was given to her as Queen or Mother Bee. In 
form, she is longer than either of the other species, al- 
though she is larger around than the worker, yet her ap- 
pearance is slender, compared with the drone and 
worker. 

She is usually of a dark color except the under side 
of the abdomen, which bears somewhat on the golden 
shade, while some have a yellow band almost encircling 



IO FARMERS GUIDE TO BEE KEEPING. 

the abdomen at the joint. All her colors are bright and 
glossy, and she has but little of the down or hair that is 
seen on the drones and workers. 

Different queens vary much in color, some being 
darker than others. A still greater variation is observed 
in the Italian Queens, most of which are of a rich gold 
color, while a few are even darker than the usual shade 
of the natives. Her wings are short, reaching a little 
more than half way back ; her posterior is more point- 
ed, and has the appearance of curving under more than 
that of the workers. She is rather shy ; generally seeks 
to hide away among the bees and comb, whenever ex- 
posed to view ; her motions are usually slow and matron- 
ly, although she can, when she pleases, move with 
astonishing rapidity. She has a sting, but never uses it 
except in combat with a rival queen. 

THEIR AFFECTION FOR THEIR QUEEN. 

The Queen is always treated with the greatest re- 
spect and affection by the bees. A circle of her loving 
offspring constantly surrounds her, testifying in various 
ways their dutiful regard j some embracing her with 
their antenna, others offering her honey from time to 
time, and all politely moving out of her way that she 
may have a clear path as she moves over the combs, No 
Crown Prince or Princess of the world is treated with 
greater respect or defference than the mother bee in her 
hive. Every member of that numerous family is ever 
ready to show her that high respect which she com- 
mands from her queenly position. 

If she is removed from them, the whole colony is 



DESCRIPTION OF THE BEES. II 

thrown into a state of the most intense agitation. As 
soon as they ascertain their loss, all the labors of the 
hive are abandoned, the bees run wildly over the combs, 
and frequently rush from the hive in anxious search for 
their beloved mother. If they cannot find her, they re- 
turn to their desolate home, and by their sorrowful tones 
manifest their deep sense of so deplorable a calamity. 
No colony can long exist without the presence of this 
mother bee, but must surely perish, unless they possess 
the means of supplying her place. 

THE AGE OF THE QUEEN. 

The average age of the queen is about three years, 
but they frequently live to reach the fourth or even the 
fifth year. I must here say that none of mine are allow- 
ed to become over three years of age. Every bee keep- 
er who uses the moveable comb hive, should destroy 
the queens at that age, and furnish the swarm another 
in its place, as after that age they often become barren, 
or, if they do not, frequently deposit only drone eggs, 
in other words, eggs which produce nothing but drones, 
and the colony soon wastes away without being replenish- 
ed with worker brood. 

Unlike a large portion of the insect world the bee 
is forced to live in groups or families, for mutual protec- 
tion, as well as for the continuation of the species. In- 
dividually or independently of each other, the different 
bees of a colony would soon perish. 

Like the drone, the queen never goes to the field to 
gather honey ; her only duty, being to deposit the egg, 
both male and female, to populate the hive ; yet she is 



12 FARMERS GUIDE TO BEE KEEPING. 

as dependent upon the workers, as they are upon her, and 
both are dependent upon the drones, notwithstanding 
they are the acknowledge idlers of the colony. 




Section of Comb, showing Honey, Bee Bread, Brood and Queen 

Cells, in their different stages. 
(K) reperesents comb filled with honey, (h) represents the brood in 
all stages, (p) represents cells containing bee bread, (g) represents drone 
brood sealed, (i) represents sealed brood, (a) represents an old Queen cell 
where a Que^n had formally hatched, (b) represents a cell where the Queen 
was killed by violence before hatching, (c) represents where a Queen has 
hatched recently, (d) represents a perfect Queen cell (e) represents a Queen 
cell just started with a grub about 5 days old. 

DEPOSITING THE EGG, 

In all well populated hives, with few exceptions, 
young brood may be found in different stages of devel^ 
opement, every month in the year. In small colonies, 
there is usually about two months (November and De- 
cember) that there is no brood to be found in the combs. 
When the queen commences to deposit the eggs in 



DESCRIPTION OF THE BEES. I3 

small swarms, she places the first in the centre of the 
cluster of bees, (it may not be in the centre of the hive,) 
and usually in close proximity to their store of honey. 
It may not be amiss to say, that the reason why she 
.commences to lay her eggs in the centre of the cluster, 
is, that it is the warmest place in the hive. 

Here then the queen will 
commence ; in a space perhaps 
not more than one or two in- 
ches in diameter ; this space 
will be filled, on both sides of 
the comb alike, in one compact 
body. If there is sufficient 
warmth in the hive, produced 
either by warm weather, or gen- 
arated by the bees, she will then 

Ovaries of a Queen Bee. fill a Spot On the adjoining 

comb, exactly opposite the first, but not quite so large. 
The circle of eggs in the first comb is then enlarged, 
and more added to the next and so on continuing to 
spread, and keeping the distance from the centre to the 
outside of the space occupied by eggs about equal on all 
sides until they cover the whole suface of the combs. 

Long before the outer edge is occupied the first 
eggs deposited, are matured, and the queen returns to 
the centre and uses these cells again. You will sel- 
dom find any cells unoccupied by brood, unless they 
contain honey or bee bread, which are essential in rear- 
ing brood, as the bee bread is undoubtedly the principal 
food of the young bee before it emerges from the cell. 




14 FARMERS GUIDE TO BEE KEEPING. 

I have removed the bees from the hive and examined 
them in all stages of developement, and have always 
found their proceedings as I have described. 

The motions of the queen when she is depositing 
her eggs may be best seen, in a good observatory hive, 
as the season is advanced and she is using the outside 
comb for breeding. I have often seen the Italian queen 
continue depositing eggs, when removed from the hive 
on the moveable frame, but you will seldom see one of 
our native species continue her labors when exposed to 
view unless it be in an observatory hive. (I would here 
state that every Apiarian should procure a good observa- 
tory hive, that he may watch the movements of the 
queen, the different stages of developement of the brood, 
the storing of honey and bee bread, and the making of 
comb, and it is often of great advantage in ascertaining 
when to look for swarms, &c.) The queen may be 
seen passing briskly over the combs with the workers, 
who, anticipating her object among them, move to the 
right and left, frequently extending to her their antenna 
by way of salutation. Some assert that she is attended 
by a retinue of servants as a body-guard, but I think 
there are no workers especially chosen as such, but they 
always appear to me to understand their duty, to feed 
her as she may require, and pay her the usual respect 
due a mother. 

She carefully examines each cell by thrusting her head 
in before depositing the egg — probably to see if it con- 
tains bee-bread or honey, as a cell partly filled she never 
attempts to use. On withdrawing her head, if she finds 



DESCRIPTION OF THE BEES. 



15 



the cell clear, she immediately curves her abdomen and 
inserts it. She remains but a second or two, and then 
leaves the cell, when an egg about the sixteenth of an 
inch in length may be seen attached by one end to the 
base of the cell, usually a little to one side. It is of a 
grayish white color, slightly oblong, curved a little, 
rounded at the ends, and bursts upon the slightest press- 
ure. 

HATCHING. 

The eggs remain unchanged in figure or situation for 
three or four days. They are then hatched, the bottom 
of each cell presenting to view a small white worm. On 
its growing so as to touch the opposite angle of the cell, 
it coils itself up, like a dog when going to sleep ; and 
floats in a whitish transparent fluid, which is deposited in 
the cells by the nursing-bees, and by which it is probably 
nourished ; it becomes gradually enlarged in its dimen- 
sions, till the two extremities touch one another, and 
form a ring. In this state it is called a larvae, or worm. 
So nicely do the bees calculate the quantity of food 
which will be required, that none remains in the cell 
when it is transformed to a nymph. It is the opinion of 
many eminent naturalists, that farina does not constitute 
the sole food of the larvae, but that it consists of a mixture 
of farina, honey, and water, partly digested in the stom- 
achs of the nursing.bees. 

" The larvae having derived its support, in the man- 
ner above described, for four, five, or six days, accord- * 
ing to the season, continues to increase during that pe- 
riod, till it occupies the whole breadth, and nearly the 



1 6 farmers' guide to bee keeping. 

length of the cell. The nursing-bees now seal 
over the cell with a light brown cover, externally more 
or less covex, (the cap of a drone-cell being more convex 
than that of a worker,) and thus differing from a honey- 
cell, which is paler and somewhat concave." The cap 
of the, brood cell is made not of pure wax, but a mixture 
of bee-bread and wax ; and appears under the micro- 
scope to be full of fine holes, to give air to the inclosed 
insect. From its texture and shape it is easily thrust off 
by the bee when mature, whereas if it consisted wholly 
of wax, the insect would either perish for lack of air, or 
be unable to force its way into the world. Both the 
material and shape of the lids which close the honey- 
cells are different; they are of pure wax, and thus air- 
tight, to prevent the honey from souring or candying in 
the cells; and are slightly concave, the better to resist 
the pressure of their contents. 

To return to the subject, as soon as the larva is per- 
fectly enclosed, it begins to line the cell, by spinning 
around itself a whitish silky film or cocoon in which it is 
encased, (after the manner of the silkworm.) When the 
cocoon is finished it undergoes a great change, from the 
larvae or grub, to the nymph or pupa, and does not wear 
a vestige of its previous form. 

It has now attained its full growth, and the large 
amount of nutriment which it has taken, serves as a 
store for developing the perfect insect. The drones and 
workers spin complete cocoons, or enclose themselves 
on every side, while the royal larvae or queen, construct 
only imperfect cocoons, enveloping only the head, 



DESCRIPTION OF THE BEES. 1 7 

thorax, and first rings of the abdomen. Huber says 
without any hesitation that the real cause of this is, that 
they may be exposed to the mortal sting of the first 
hatched queen, whose instinct leads her instantly to seek 
the destruction of those who would soon be her rivals. He 
says that such is the instinctive enmity of young queens 
towards each other, that I have seen one of them imme- 
diately on its emergence from the cell, rush to those of 
its sisters, and tear to pieces even the imperfect larvae. 

Queens are reared from eggs that would, if deposit- 
ed in worker cells, produce worker bees. By giving the 
larvae of such eggs proper capacity of cell and royal jelly, 
(a substance that is said to be prepared from honey and 
bee-bread and is found only in royal cells,) queens are 
developed. 

The cell in which a queen is reared differs mater- 
ially from all others in the hive. At the swarming sea- 
son, there are usually from five to twenty of them con- 
structed, in which to raise queens, They are, ordinar- 
ily built upon the edge of the comb, although when the 
bees are forced to raise a queen they sometimes con- 
struct them upon the side of the comb. Their position 
is almost vertical, and in appearance they resemble a 
common sized peanut, with the smallest end hanging 
downward. 

Their dimensions are about one inch in length, and 
about one third of an inch in diameter. They are not 
composed entirely of wax, but of a mixture of wax and 
pollen. Their long cylindrical form is smoothly pol- 
ished within ; and covered externally with a kind of net 
2 



1 8 farmers' GUIDE TO BEE iCEEPING. 

work, having a rough appearance. In fact, the impos- 
ing appearance of this cell, and the profusion of mater- 
ial expended in its construction is- such, that one of 
them will outweigh one hundred common cells; and 
points it out as destined for receiving and nourishing 
the most important personage of the whole colony. Af- 
ter the queen has emerged from the cell, the workers 
usually gnaw them away, so that nothing is left of them 
to mark their locality, only a waxen cup, somewhat re- 
sembling the shell of an acorn j and may be seen in 
almost any hive that is one year old. 

The time required to raise a queen is three days in 
the egg, and five days as a worm. The workers then 
close her cell, and she immediately begins to spin her 
cocoon which occupies twenty-four hours. On the tenth 
and eleventh days, she remains in complete repose. 
She then passes four or five days as a nymph ; there- 
fore, it is on the sixteenth day that she has attained to 
the perfect state of a queen bee. The working bee 
comes forth, perfected, in twenty-one days from the 
time that the egg is deposited. 

The time required to bring forth the fully developed 
drone is twenty-four or five days from the time the eggs 
are deposited. The drones and workers on emerging 
from their cells, are at first gray, soft, and comparatively 
helpless, so that some time elapses before they take 
wing. 

The cocoon of the drone and worker is left behind, 
and forms a closely attached and exact lining to the cell 
in which it was spun ; by this means the breeding cells 



DESCRIPTION OF THE BEES. 1 9 

become smaller and their partitions stronger, the oftener 
they change their tenants ; and may become so much 
diminished in size, as not to admit of the perfect de- 
velopement of full-sized bees. 

The periods for hatching must be accepted with 
some degree of allowance, as atmospheric changes vary 
much the temperature of the hive, 

IMPREGNATION OF THE QUEEN. 

This subject is one in which we place Huber at the 
head. By a long course of careful experiments he as- 
certained that, like many other insects, the queen was 
fecundated in the open air and on the wing ; and that 
the influence of this connection continues for several 
years, or during her natural life. He describes his first 
observation with his assistant in this wise : 

" We placed ourselves opposite to a hive containing 
an unimpregnated queen five days old. The sun had 
shone from its rising ; the air was very warm, and the 
males had begun to leave the hives in large numbers. 
We then enlarged the entrance of the one selected for 
observation, and paid particular attention to the bees 
entering and departing. The males appeared and im- 
mediately took flight. Soon afterwards the young queen 
came to the entrance ; at first she did not fly, but during 
a little time traversed the board, brushing her belly with 
her hind legs ; neither males nor workers seemed to take 
any notice of her, and at last she took flight. When 
several feet from the hive she returned and approached 
it, as if to examine the place of her departure, perhaps 
judging this precaution necessary to recognize it ; she 



io farmers' guide to bee keeping. 

flew away. We immediately contracted the entrance, 
that she might not return unobserved, and placed our- 
selves in the centre of the circles which she made on the 
start of her flight, the more easily to follow her and 
witness all her motions. But she did not remain long 
in a situation favorable for our observations, and rapidly 
rose out of sight. We resumed our place before the 
hive, and in seven minutes the young queen returned to 
the hive which she had left for the first time in her life. 
Having found no external evidence of fecundation we 
allowed her to enter. In a quarter of an hour she re- 
appeared and brushing herself as before, took flight, 
then returning to examine the hive, she arose so high 
that we soon lost sight of her. This second absence 
was much longer than the first, occupying twenty-seven 
minutes. We now found her in a state quite different 
from that in which she was, after her former excursion ; 
the organs distended by a substance thick and hard, 
yery much resembling that of the male, the spennatoza. 
But more evidence than mere resemblance being re- 
quisite to establish that the female had returned with the 
prolific matter of the males, we allowed this queen to 
enter the hive and confined her there. In two days we 
found her belly swollen, and she had already laid over a 
hundred eggs in worker cells. To confirm our discov- 
eries we made several other experiments, and with the 
same success. On another experiment in July of the 
same year, the weather being very fine, a large number 
of males left the hives, and we set at liberty a young 
virgin queen, eleven days old, (whose hive had always 



DESCRIPTION OF THE BEES. 21 

been deprived of drones, or which had never brooded 
any ;) having quickly left the hive she returned to ex- 
amine it and then rose out of sight; she came back in 
a few minutes with evident marks of fecundations, the 
same as the first one. ' ' 

It is acknowledged by all apiarians of the present 
day, that the act of copulation takes place high up in 
the open air, (unless by artificial fertilization, which will 
be hereafter described,) and at the expense of life to the 
drone ; and that it usually is between the fourth and 
tenth days after the queen leaves the cell. If fertiliza- 
tion does not occur before she is twenty days old, it 
never takes place and the result is that the eggs deposited 
will only produce drones, and not workers or those of 
her own class. The cause of failure to fertilize, may be 
owing to bad weather, defective wings, or to a scarcity 
of drones ; but whatever the cause, the result is the 
same — a drone producing queen. These facts prove 
that an unimpregnated queen has not only power to lay 
eggs, but that her eggs have sufficient vitality to produce 
drones, and only drones, they being less highly organ- 
ized than either queen or worker. 

The anatomy of the queen, the physiological laws 
governing the sex, and her own knowledge of the sex 
of her progeny, are themes which we have not room to 
fully discuss, but will simply state, that a drone laying 
queen produces only drones let her deposit her eggs 
wherever she may, the cells having nothing to do with 
determining the sex in her case; but with the fertilized 
queen the sex is governed by the cell. Mr. Wagner 



22 FARMERS GUIDE TO BEE KEEPING. 

has advanced a highly ingenious theory, which accounts 
for all the facts, without admitting that the queen has 
any special knowledge or will on the subject. He sup-, 
poses that when she deposits her eggs in the worker- 
cells, her body is slightly compressed by their size, thus 
causing the eggs as they pass the spermatheca to receive 
its vivifying influence. On the contrary, when she is 
laying in drone cells, as this compression cannot take 
place, the mouth of the spermatheca is kept closed, and 
the eggs are necessarily unfecundated. Every egg de- 
posited by her in the small or worker comb, produces 
a worker bee or a queen if necessary; while every 
egg deposited in the large or drone comb produces a 
drone, which is positive proof that in the case of a fer- 
tilized queen, the size of the cell determines the sex, 
and this law is constant. 

Mr. Quimby appears to have some doubts in regard 
to the queen knowing the sex the egg will produce. He 
gives the result of his observations as follows : 

"That the queen knows any thing about the kind 
of eggs she is depositing, is, to me, very doubtful. One 
circumstance witnessed by myself, has a strong bearing 
on this subject. A colony in a glass hive had remained 
quite small up to the middle of June. One outside 
sheet of comb was three-fourths worker cells. For 
several days I had observed the bees cutting off the cells 
in which they had stored honey the previous season, for 
the purpose of rearing brood. I soon discovered eggs 
in both worker and drone cells. Shortly after, on 
opening the door, I found the queen engaged in laying 



DESCRIPTION OF THE BEES. 23 

eggs in the drone cells. Nearly every one already con- 
tained an egg. Most of these she examined, but did 
not use them. Six or eight, only, appeared to be un- 
occupied, and in each of them she immediately depos- 
ited an egg. After depositing the last one in the drone 
cells, she continued to search for more empty cells, and 
in doing so, she passed, apparently by accident, upon 
the worker cells, where she found a dozen or more 
empty, in each of which, without hesitation, she laid an 
egg. The whole time occupied was not more than 
thirty minutes. Each produced according to the cell 
used, drones in drone cells, and workers in worker cells. 
It is hardly worth while to tell me that she knew her 
series of drone eggs was exhausted just when she laid 
the last one in the drone cell, because I should at once 
inquire why she examined so many of those cells, if she 
did not intend to use them, had they been empty. It 
will require very positive evidence to convince me that 
those worker cells did not receive the identical eggs 
that would have been placed in drone cells had they not 
been preoccupied. 

But can we account for the impregnation of some, 
and the non-impregnation of other eggs laid by the 
same queen in the space of a half hour, aside from the 
theory of Mr. Wagner ? Among the objections raised 
to this by Mr. Harbison, the strongest appears to be 
that the eggs laid in cells one-eight of an inch deep, 
are just as sure to produce workers as those laid in deeper 
ones. It is considered by some as entirely fatal to the 
whole theory. For myself, I feel very reluctant to ad- 



24 FARMERS GUIDE TO BEE KEEPING. 

mit that it affects it in the least, yet I must acknowledge 
that it is somewhat obscured by the circumstances. 

The queen commences depositing her eggs very 
soon after fertilization. During the early portion of 
the breeding season she will often, and under favorable 
circumstances deposit from two to three thousand eggs 
a day. 

ARTIFICIAL FERTILIZATION OF THE QUEEN. 

In regard to the theory of artificial impregnation, 
I would call the reader's attention to, as elaborated by 
Mrs. Ellen S. Tupper, of Brighton, Iowa. In conse- 
quence of the difficulties and perplexities which throng 
the path of the bee-raiser, any ideas which have for 
their object the possibility of being practicable, and at 
the same time reliable, are hailed with pleasure, and are 
eagerly sifted, that the good may rise to the surface, 
and the unsatisfactory sink from sight. 

In an article published in the Illustrated Bee Journal, 
of October 15th, 1870, Mr. L. C. Waite writes that he 
received a letter from Mrs. Tupper, dated May 23rd, 
1868, in which she gives her plan as discovered and 
practiced by herself some time previous, which he has 
adopted and experimented upon, with entire success 
and satisfaction to himself, in the following words : 

" Procure a wire cloth dish cover, nine or ten 
inches in diameter, fasten a piece of thin board in the 
bottom ; make a door in the board large enough to pass 
your hand through. If you cannot obtain a dish cover, 
make a cage of wire-cloth, twelve or fourteen inches 
long, and six or eight inches in diameter, Fasten a 



DESCRIPTION OF THE BEES. £5 

piece of empty comb, three or four inches square, on 
the inside, which, when required for use fill with honey 
and water. In the spring and summer young queens 
leave the hive to meet the drones usually on the fifth 
day; in the fall months they seldom leave until seven 
or eight days old. On the morning of the day a queen 
is to leave her hive, put. her with four or five selected 
drones into the fertilizer. The drones should be caught 
as they are about to leave the hive; those returning 
from a trip being generally too much fatigued. 

Place the fertilizer, when prepared, over the frames 
of the hive (so that the warm air can enter) to which 
the young queen belongs, it can be used on any hive, how- 
ever ; put on the cap, which should have an opening in 
the top or side, covered with glass, to admit light. 
Leave her there thirty-six or forty eight hours ; a shorter 
time usually answers. At the end of that time, if a 
dead drone is found, release the queen, and she goes 
down into the hive, and in a few days commences to 
deposit her eggs. 

The cages or fertilizers can be made in any form, 
and two or three can be put on one hive at a time. The 
principle is that queens can be fertilized in confinement, 
if shut up about the time they would have flown. I 
have had over one hundred queens mated in this way, 
this season, and a great many last season. It is a great 
help, as it prevents all loss of queens when flying, and 
also enables us to select our finest drones, and cross with 
any importation we may desire. 

Probably this subject would not have received so 



20 FARMERS GUIDE TO BEE KEEPING. 

much attention at this time, but for the difficulties and 
perplexities which beset the raisers of Italian bees, in 
keeping their stock pure. In order to have the Italian 
queens impregnated by Italian drones when flying, it is 
necessary that all the bees within a circuit of three 
miles, are Italianized. 

I find that Mr. Waite, from whom I have given an 
extract, is about the only person who has had any success 
in artificial fertilization. The subject was discussed 
fairly at the Michigan Bee-Keepers' Convention, held at 
Kalamazoo, September, 1871, and it was the testimony 
of every individual who had tried the experiment, that 
in every case it had proved a failure. Some reported 
the loss of fifty queens in their various experiments. I 
think that it departs too widely from the natural instincts 
of the bees, to be generally or successfully practiced. 

DRONE PROGENY OF THE QUEENS. 

Latterly, there has been quite a vigorous discussion 
carried on in the various bee journals, in regard to the 
purity of the drone progeny of Italian queens, fertilized 
by black drones; some contending that if the Italian 
bee is a pure and distinct race, and they are crossed by 
the black drone, sooner or later the peculiar character- 
istics of each will exhibit themselves in the drone pro- 
geny. 

But such are not my own views ; as the fertilization 
lasts for life, and the drone eggs are not necessarily fer- 
tilized, it can have no influence on her drone progeny, 
but the workers and queens, will of course be hybrids, 

I am unable to find sufficient data upon which to 



DESCRIPTION OF THE BEES. 27 

base a position and decided opinion, and the experi- 
ments have not been perfect and sufficiently extended to 
place much confidence in, still a test might be applied, 
which would decide the matter beyond a peradventure. 
For the experiment take a virgin queen, Italian, for 
instance, mate her with the drone of an unfertilized 
queen, by artificial impregnation, that there may be no 
opportunity for being deceived in regard to her mating 
with some other drone, and her progeny, if any, will 
decide the question of hybridization. 

THE WAILINGS OF THE QUEEN. 

The queen has two notes : one of defiance called 
piping, made during the developmental stage of the 
young queens, which will be more fully described under 
the head of swarming. The other is a note of fear, a 
plaintive, pitiful wail, mournful in the extreme, and 
lingering long in the memory, when once heard, like 
the sobbing wailings of a dying child, This mournful 
note is set up, it may be when removed from their hive, 
when seized by the other bees to destroy her life, or 
when her colony are starving. Dr. Peterman says, that 
he entered his bee depository once during the past 
winter, and distinctly heard at least two queens uttering 
their plaintive wailings, but not being sufficiently con- 
versant with bee language to understand the call, 
thought that a light, which had been carried in had dis- 
turbed them, he soon after discovered two dead swarms, 
one of which he had purchased late in the fall, and they 
had died from starvation. The other died by the bees 



28 farmers' guide to bee keeping. 

finding a small crevice in the bottom of the hive through 
which they had nearly all escaped and were unable to 
find their way back. 

The Doctor thinks that the cry came from the 
perishing queens ; that they were lamenting their un- 
happy fate j or hearing him enter their winter house, 
were calling and pleading with him to stretch forth his 
hand and save them from destruction. Whenever this 
note is heard, turn not a deaf ear, but immediately re- 
spond to the call, for there is something wrong, insti- 
tute a rigid examination of the hive, and hasten at once 
to remove the cause of complaint. 

An unimpregnated queen is called a 

virgin queen. 
A virgin, as before stated, is capable of laying eggs, 
but those eggs are not so highly organized as workers 
and queens, consequently can produce only drones, and 
will be referred to in the description of drones. 

a fertile or prolific queen 

Is one who has mated with a drone, and is capable of 

laying eggs which may become either workers, drones or 

queens. 

a barren queen 

Is one who has passed the stage of laying eggs that will 
become either workers or queens ; but continues to lay 
eggs which will produce only drones. The period of 
fertility only lasts from two to three years, and cannot 
be depended upon longer with safety. All such queens 
should be destroyed and a fertile one be introduced that 
the colony may not become extinct. 




DESCRIPTION OF THE BEES. 29 

WORKER BEE. 

The annexed cut represents the worker 
bee, a very important member of the col- 
ony ; they constitute the mass of the 
swarm, and are properly named, as on 
them devolve all the labors of the hive, 
worker. They go forth into the fields in search of 
stores, and return laden with sweets ; while from the 
baskets on their thighs gleams the golden pollen food 
for the young ; they elaborate the wax from which their 
wondrous and beautiful combs are constructed ; they 
nurse and feed the young brood ; they defend their 
house against the invasion of enemies ; they gather pro- 
polis for cementing the cracks in the hive, to repell the 
air, rain and the miller moth ; each industriously plying 
her skill in finishing and furnishing her home, and pro- 
viding for the coming time of want. 

Ordinarily, within two or three days after fertiliza- 
tion, the queen commences laying, and the eggs are 
deposited in worker cells. After being deposited they 
remain attached to the upper angle of the cell, and are 
covered with a viscid matter for three days ; on the 
fourth the thin membrane by which they are enveloped 
opens, and a worm is seen in the bottom of the cell. 
The nursing bees at once commence feeding them with 
their proper food, which is composed mostly of honey 
and farina, and probably some saliva enters into its 
composition. As the larvae increases in size the atten- 
tion of the nursing bees are increased, and is indeed un- 
ceasing, for it matters not at what time we inspect a 



30 farmers' guide TO BEE KEEPING. 

brood comb we shall discover hundreds of the nurses, 
with the bodies inserted in the cells supplying the wants 
of the infant progeny. During the first three days they 
remain almost inactive, their motions being so slow as 
to be almost unperceptable, but soon becoming more 
active, are able to turn about in the cell. " The slight- 
est movement of the bees approaching to administer to 
their wants is sufficient to attract them to their food, 
which they devour voraciously, as it is unsparingly ad- 
ministered to them. At first this food is nearly incipid, 
but gradually acquires a perceptable flavor of honey, 
and becomes more saccharine and transparent, in pro- 
portion as the larvae increases in growth." 

"It is indescrible," says Februrier, " the care 
which the workers bestow upon their little nurselings, 
toward whom they seem to cherish the tenderest attach- 
ment. A comb filled with brood, and placed in an empty 
hive, seldom fails to retain them there, to the utter dis- 
regard of the loss of their stores. The tenderest mother 
could not watch over her children with more affection, 
nor supply them with nourishment more impartially, or 
in greater abundance. At the same time it is done with- 
out waste, for the quantity is in such exact proportion to 
the demand, that none of it remains in the cell, when 
the larvae undergoes its transformation to the nymph 
state. ' ' 

During the larvaa stage as we have shown, thesolici- 
tude of the workers about the welfare and nourishment 
of their infant charge, is extreme ; but from the moment 
they have sealed up their cells, and while the larvae is 



DESCRIPTION OF THE BEES. $1 

undergoing its transformation, they seem to cease from 
anything like individual attention ; and though, when a 
brood comb is meddled with, their utmost ire kindled 
against the invaders, as far as concerns the reception of 
the newly hatched insect and its introduction to the du- 
ties and vocations of the bee-community, they appear 
altogether selfish and indifferent. There is another case 
where this indifference appears very striking; a sudden 
change of atmosphere about the end of Autumn, from a 
mild temperature to frost, has such an immediate effect 
on the brood, that it is not uncommon for a young bee, 
which has so far scceeded in breaking its prison as to ex- 
tricate its head and nearly its shoulders, yet perishing 
from cold in this situation without the slightest effort on 
the part of the workers to save the life of a companion, 
whose rearing has already caused them so much labor. 
Immediately after the young bee has issued from the 
cell, the workers hasten to clean it out, clear away the 
ragged remains of the cover and fortify it anew with the 
usual strong bordering of wax, thus preparing it for the 
reception of another egg, honey, or farina. 

As before stated, they are developed from the egg 
in about twenty-one days, and are imperfect females ; 
live about one year at longest, the age however depend- 
ing on circumstances. If hatched in the midst of the 
honey season, they are quite short lived, in consequence 
of the excessive amount of labor to which they are sub- 
jected, many of them living not more than one or two 
months, and but few over six months. Bees reared in 
the spring and early summer, are shorter lived, than 



32 FARMERS GUIDE TO BEE KEEPING. 

those reared later in the summer and fall ; these latter, 
living through the winter ; and from the small amount 
of labor required of them, retain their bodily vigor, and 
live longer than those who perform such excessive labor 
while young. 

Like all animals and insects, bees have a period of 
youth and also of age. Young bees are smaller in size, 
grayish in appearance, and smooth ; wings perfect, as 
when first emerging from the cell ; while those that are 
older are more symetrical in form, bright and glossy in 
appearance, and lively in movements ; the more aged 
ones appear to have passed that point where rotundity 
and plumpness are indications of full physical develop- 
ment, their wings are worn and present broken seg- 
ments at the extremities, and a torn and tattered appear- 
ance generally. 

It has been stated that the workers are all females, 
whose ovaries are too imperfectly developed to admit of 
their laying eggs ; but Reim, a German Apiarian dis- 
covered that workers do sometime lay eggs. Huber af- 
terwards in his observations, ascertained that such work- 
ers were bred in hives who had lost their queen, and who 
occupied cells in the vicinity of those where young 
queens were being raised ; and probably that a portion of 
the food designed for the young queens was accidentally 
dropped into the cells of the workers, and the larvae 
feeding upon that, became more highly developed, and 
consequently, although they did not develope into full- 
grown queens, became what is called fertile workers. 
The workers were, for a long time regarded as neither 



DESCRIPTION OF THE BEES. 33 

male nor female, but were called neuters ; but rigid ex- 
aminations made with the microscope, revealed rudimen- 
tary ovaries which decided their sex. 

The worker is much smaller than either the queen 
or drones. She is furnished with a very curious and 
complicated tongue or proboscis with which she extracts 
the honey from the flowers, and through this, the honey 
is conyeyed to the stomach which is not larger than a 
small pea, and being surrounded with muscles, enables 
the bee to compress it, and force the contents back 
through the proboscis into the cell. Each worker is 
armed with a formidable stingy and when disturbed or 
iritated, hesitates not to make use of her natural weapon 
of defense. Microscopic examinations reveal a most in- 
tricate mechanism. 

u It is moved by muscles which, though invisible 
to the eye, are yet strong enough to force the sting, to 
the depth of one-twelfth of an inch, through the thick 
skin of a man's hand. At its roots are situated two 
glands by which the poison is secreted ; these glands 
uniting in one duct, eject the venomous liquid along the 
groove formed by the junction of the two piercers. 
There are four barbs on the outside of each piercer ; 
when the insect is prepared to sting, one of these pier- 
cers, having its point a little longer than the other, first 
darts into the flesh, and being fixed by its foremost 
beard, the other strikes in also, and they alternately 
penetrate deeper and deeper till they acquire a firm hold 
of the flesh with their barbed hooks, and then follows 
the sheath, conveying the poison into the wound," 



34 farmers' guide to bee keeping. 

The extremity of the sting being barbed, the bee 
can rarely withdraw it, if the texture into which it is 
thrust, is at all tenacious ; and in loosing her sting, she 
necessarily looses her life ; but she dies in defending her 
home and its sacred treasures. 

It has been thought by some, that certain classes of 
the bees, were appointed to the discharge of certain du- 
ties ; each having her specific vocation, and that her life 
was spent in the fullfilment of that ; that some were set 
apart to nurse the young ; some as wax-workers ; others 
as honey-gatherers ; and another set as defenders of the 
colony against the devastations of the miller worm. But 
when we reflect that the honey-gatherers have the most 
laborious duties to perform, often flying two or three 
miles in quest of their stores, returning laden and panting, 
to the shelter of the home roof, is it not reasonable to 
presume that a relay is ready to take the wing, and make 
the tour of the fields, that the weary may have rest for a 
season ? 



We herewith present a representa- 
tion of the drone of the colony j the 
"gentlemen of leisure," who leads 
an easy, comfortable sort of life, 
taking no thought for the morrow, 
satisfied if the larder is always full. 
" They toil not, neither do they spin," but seem willing 
that others shall bear the heat and burden of the day ; 
submitting to be jostled and crowded aside, and art; 




DESCRIPTION OF THE BEES. 35 

finally ignominiously thrust from the hive when no 
longer wanted, or the supply of honey fails. 

In form and structure they are different from the 
queen or worker, and of a darker color; they are less 
active, moving with dull, sluggish strides ; have no 
proboscis for gathering honey ; no basket for pollen ; 
no sack for elaborating wax ; no sting to defend them- 
selves against invaders ; in short, they are a necessary 
evil ; standing around and comsuming the fruits of the 
labor performed by others. Yet who shall say that they 
are without their use ? For would not the family very 
soon become extinct, but for them? and again, may 
they not greatly aid in keeping up the warmth of the 
hive, that the young brood may be perfected, and en- 
abled to come forth ? but even that is of doubtful utility, 
as the space they occupy could be better given to honey- 
gatherers. 

Through microscopic examinations, they have been 
pronounced the males of the bee family; and in the 
performance of the function appointed to them, they 
invariably yield up their life. If the weather is favor- 
able, and the colony strong, they come out as early as 
April or May, and in June and July they appear around 
the entrance of the hive, in great numbers, their loud, 
heavy buzzing being heard some distance, and lacking 
the busy, bustling hum of the workers, is easily distin- 
guished from it. 

In the economy of the colony, the duties devolving 
upon them, is to accompany the young queens upon 
their bridal tour ; in the performance of the same, their 



3.6 farmers' guide to LEE KEEPING. 

life becomes the sacrifice. It would seem almost need- 
less that so great a retinue should follow in the wake of 
the bridal pair, as one is all that is required in the young 
queen's life; yet in order that one may be forth- 
coming, the number is increased, that failure in that re- 
gard may not ensue. 

In July or August, if honey is not secreted in the 
blossoms, and there are appearances of a short supply 
of food in the combs, the laborers, wishing to rid them- 
selves of this superabundant population, at once set up 
a system of vigorous persecution ; driving them from or 
into a corner of the hive, and confining them there until, 
through hunger and captivity, they become weakened, 
and from want of a sting are unable to resist the attacks 
of their merciless assailants, fall, hepless victims to their 
frightful onslaught ; they rush after them, and sting them 
with such fury, that they die immediately from the ef- 
fects of the poison ; they sieze them by the wings, and 
.gnaw them in such a manner as to prevent their escape 
by flight ; and crawling off, death overtakes them by 
being crushed beneath the feet, or perishing from cold ; 
or by being devoured by toads and birds. If by chance, 
some escape death, and are sheltered by a queenless 
colony, they only live a few months at the longest, and 
are rarely seen after January or February ; and from 
their liability to extermination, the age to which they 
might attain, cannot be positively determined, but prob- 
ably they do not live beyond the- sixth or seventh month. 



ITALIAN OR LIGURIAN. 37 



CHAPTER III. 

THE ITALIAN, OR LIGURIAN BEES 

Are now conceded by all practical Apiarians to be 
far superior in every regard to the black bee above de- 
scribed ; although they do not differ essentially in con- 
formation, yet for the matter of profit and amiability, 
are considered a great improvement. In color, they are 
of a beautiful golden hue ; the workers, when pure, 
have three distinct bands about the body, the color and 
bands being the test of purity ; the queens are more fer- 
tile and prolific, depositing their eggs earlier in the 
season ; swarm oftener and earlier when not interfered 
with; protect their family from the incursions of the 
robber bees and miller-moth more effectually ; carry in 
more honey, gathering from the small variety of red 
clover, and some other plants with cells so deep that the 
common bee cannot reach the nectar distilled in the bot- 
tom of the flower cups ; will not use their weapon of 
defence upon so slight an occasion, but can be handled 
with greater ease ; if from any cause, they loose their 
queen, retain their numbers for a longer time ; do not 
forsake their home when food becomes scarce, and ex- 
hibit a greater affection for their brood ; they are stronger 
and more hardy, consequently live longer, although per- 
forming a greater amount of labor; are more indus- 
trious, laboring assiduously during the entire honey- 



38 FARMERS 1 GUIDE TO BEE KEEPING. 

season, often going into the fields in very unfavorable 
weather, many, at those times being beaten down by 
the rain and lost. They possess undaunted courage, and 
by their extraordinary vigor and agility do not permit 
themselves to be overcome while their colony remains 
strong. Mr. P. J. Severson, in American Bee Journal 
for February, 1870, gives his preference for the Italians, 
in point of profit, by comparing the amount of surplus 
honey, and the greater number of swarms given off; 
having both in the same apiary, in the same style of 
hive, each receiving the same attention, and both under 
the same general circumstances ; the Italians yielding 
swarms, and surplus honey, the common bees doing 
nothing, and proving almost an entire failure as regards 
profit, and having tested them five seasons has decided 
in favor of the Italians. 

TO PRESERVE PURITY OF STOCK. 

Many object to Italian bees, from apprehensions of 
their becoming hybridized ; maintaining that it will be 
impossible to retain them in their purity, so long as 
black bees are kept in the vicinity. But the fact of 
their throwing off swarms more frequently, and earlier 
in the season, that trouble could be easily obviated. 
We quote from Mr. Samuel Wagner : 

" The main thing to be attended to in any local- 
ity where common bees are found or kept, is to secure 
the production of drones in numbers overwhelmingly 
large ; though Dzierzon is under the impression, that 
where both kinds of drones exist in about equal num- 



ITALIAN OR LIGURIAN. 39 

bers, the Italian queens will usually encounter Italian 
drones, both queens and drones being more ac- 
tive and agile than the common kind. Besides, 
the wings of both queens and drones are finer and more 
delicate than those of the common kind, and the sounds 
produced in flying are clearer and higher-toned. Hence, 
probably, they are readily able to distinguish each other 
when on the wing. 

If, at the time when young queens are emerging, 
the bees and drones be tempted to sally out earlier than 
usual in the day, hours before the common drones come 
forth, by feeding them with diluted honey, the perpet- 
uation of the genuine breed will the more probably be 
secured. But this end will the most certainly be at- 
tained, if measures are taken to have Italian queens and 
drones bred early in the season, before the common 
drones make their appearance ; and again late, after the 
latter have been ' killed off. ' This may readily be done 
by the improved hive, and the application of certain 
known principles in bee-culture." 

REARING ITALIAN QUEENS. 

All practical Apiculturists have their own peculiar 
manner of rearing queens, each claiming his own, the 
only practical way. 

In raising queens artificially, I would recommend 
the use of a small hive or nucleus, as they are termed. 
They are commonly made about six or eight inches 
long, five inches wide, and six inches deep inside meas- 
ure, with three miniature comb-frames each. If your 



40 FARMERS GUIDE TO BEE KEEPING. 

whole apiary is Italianized, and all the bees are the 
same for an extent of three miles around, there will not 
be much difficulty in obtaining purely fertilized queens; 
but if such is not the case, some of the following 
methods may be adopted to secure the desired result ; 
either the rearing of drones early in the spring, before 
the black drones make their appearance, or late in the 
season, after they have been destroyed ; otherwise the 
manner of double working them will have to be re- 
sorted to. 

If the apiary is large, perhaps the last named 
method would be the most practicable ; as it would be 
almost impossible to obtain the desired results by either 
of the others, unless in the hands of an experienced 
operator. The manner of double working them is very 
simple. It is merely raising all the queens you may 
desire for the whole apiary, from a queen of undoubted 
purity, and let the young queens mate as they will with 
black or Italian drones. According to the theory 
adopted by myself, and the majority of bee-keepers, the 
drones of the young queen will be pure, while the 
workers of a queen fertilized by the black drone will be 
hybrides. From this theory, it is evident that the 
drones of your apiary the following spring will be 
Italian, and you have only to proceed and raise another 
set of queens from the same old one, (or what would be 
better, from a new queen from another apiary,) which 
would produce a cross, and prevent in and in breeding. 
If any of the queens of the second year's raising do 
not produce workers of undoubted purity, namely. 



ITALIAN OR LIGURIAN. 41 

those with three distinct bands on the abdomen, she 
should be replaced by another, until the desired purity 
is attained. It is not necessary to make much prepara- 
tion for queen-raising until the drones begin to make 
their appearance, as they should be, at least two weeks 
old, at the time the queen sets forth upon her bridal 
tour. When the proper time arrives to proscecute your 
labors, the nuclei should be stocked with combs gin the 
frames, and a little honey, about one or more frame full, 
in order that the bees may concentrate their labors on 
the queen cells, instead of being obliged to store their 
hive with honey. To insure success, it is also necessary 
to have some brood in the nuclei to retain the bees, and 
keep them on the increase, and not allow them to di- 
minish in numbers ; for the nuclei should be kept well 
stocked with bees. The brood should be over seven 
days old, from the time the egg was deposited ; so that 
the bees will not construct queen cells from brood that 
you do not wish to use. To procure the bees and comb, 
it is best to obtain the hive from a distance of two or 
three miles ; drive out the bees into a box, as in trans- 
ferring, search out the queen, divide the combs, and put 
them in the nucleus; then put into each nucleus at least 
one quart of bees, without a queen. A good swarm in May 
will furnish bees enough for about five nuclei ; while in 
June, sufficient may be obtained for ten. The bees in 
the nucleus should be confined, with a little ventilation, 
for from twelve to twenty-four hours, and if the night is 
cool, should be covered or carried into a room, so that 
their brood may not become chilled. 



42 FARMERS GUIDE TO BEE KEEPING. 

The nuclei should be placed promiscuously about 
the yard, so that when the queen makes her flight, she 
may return safely to her home and not enter another, 
and in the mistake loose her life. The bees for the nu- 
cleus may be obtained from your own yard, in which 
case it will be necessary to confine them for at least three 
days, that they may not return to their old habitation, 
when set at liberty. If it is desired to put the brood 
that you wish to have queens reared from, into the nu- 
cleus, at the time of putting the bees in, it can be done 
if done quickly, that it may not become chilled in the 
process ; or it can be put in at the time they are allowed 
to fly out. I prefer the plan advocated by Mr. Alley, 
that is, to introduce your best queens, or those you wish 
to rear from, directly into the nucleus, and change 
combs from them, when there are eggs deposited there, 
to others from which to rear queens. In all cases to 
raise large, strong, fertile queens, I think it best to in- 
troduce the brood into the nucleus before the eggs 
hatch ; as, in that case, the larva is fed upon the royal 
jelly from the time the egg hatches, until it is sealed 
over, and therefore would receive more than a grub 
that is well advanced. When the brood is given to the 
nucleus, the bees will often start several queen cells from 
it, and in from ten to fourteen days some of the cells 
will hatch. Just before they do, all the cells but one 
maybe removed, and placed in other nuclei, or in hives 
that have been queenless for at least twelve hours. This 
is much safer than to allow them to hatch, and then at- 
tempt to introduce a virgin queen to a hive or nucleus, 



ITALIAN OR LIGURIAN. 43 

as they will rarely receive a queen until after impregna- 
tion takes place. 

During the months of June, July and August, if the 
weather is pleasant, the queen will invariably come out 
to meet the drone on the fifth day after leaving the cell, 
and in two or three days she will commence laying eggs. 
She should be removed from the nucleus after impregna- 
tion takes place and before she commences to lay, if it 
is desired to rear another queen in the same nucleus. If 
she is allowed to commence laying before being removed, 
the bees will, after her removal, begin to construct 
queen cells from the eggs laid by her, in which case, it 
would be necessary to keep the nucleus queenless for 
five days, or introduce a cell just ready to hatch within 
twelve hours after removing the queen. 

There are other methods advanced, by which queens 
are reared artificially in cages, such as Mr. Jewell Da- 
vis's, as described in the American Bee Journal for 
January, 1870, in which he confines a cell with a few 
bees, in a cage, — perhaps a dozen cages on a common 
comb frame. But in whatsoever way they are reared, 
it is important that the cells should be attended with a 
suitable number of workers to nurse it. It is known by 
any one who has ever examined the hive while the bees 
were constructing queen cells, that they are in con- 
stant attendance upon it, even after it is sealed 
over. They are continually running to and fro 
over it, seeming to pay as much attention to it, as to the 
queen while performing her maternal duties about the 
hive. 



44 FARMERS GUIDE TO BEE KEEPING. 

Mr. J. H. Townley, of Tompkins, Mich., says : 
To raise early queens, put your best queen with sufficient 
bees, into a hive containing only drone comb, and daily 
feed them to stimulate them to rapid breeding. In a 
few days, or as soon as you find plenty of eggs, remove 
the combs to a clean hive, and supply its place with 
worker comb, and continue the feeding as before. As 
soon as the queen has again filled the combs, remove 
her to another hive, and allow the bees to raise queen 
cells ; when these queen cells are sealed over, about the 
eleventh or twelfth day, cut off the cells, and remove 
them to nuclei hives ; or if you wish to Italianize your 
swarms of black bees in movable comb. hives, takeout 
a centre comb, cut out a square piece, put one of the 
sealed cells in a queen cage, with wire-cloth on both 
sides, insert the cage in the place of removed comb, 
and return it to the hive, so that the queen cage will be 
in the midst of the cluster of bees. 

When the young queen is five or six days' old, 
search out and remove the old queen, liberate the young 
one, who is already at home, and who will soon become 
fertilized, and become the founder of another colony. 
If you have a box hive and you succeed in driving the 
bees up with smoke, so that you can' place the queen 
cage in the cluster, leave her till the fifth or sixth day, 
and then drive the bees, (as directed in the chapter on 
transferring,) shake them into a cloth, search out the 
old queen, liberate the young one, "and let the bees re- 
turn to the hive. 

When you have placed the drone comb into a clean 



ITALIAN OR LIGURIAN. 45 

h ive, (containingsome honey of course), supply it with 
a sufficient number of bees, without a queen, to protect 
it, and raise the drones) feeding them daily and liberally, 
lest they destroy the drone brood ; after a few days give 
them a card of comb containing worker brood, and al- 
low them to raise queens, all but one of which should 
be removed, the feeding continued daily until there is 
sufficient honey secreted in the flowers. 

To introduce a fertile queen to a colony, Mr. 
Townley first removes the old queen, and introduces 
the young one in a cage, where she remains until the 
bees treat her with respect, and she becomes scented 
with the odors of the hive, when she is liberated. 

INTRODUCING THE QUEEN. 

The proper time for removing the black queen, is 
the middle of the day — great care being taken t not to 
alarm the bees when the- frames are removed. Smoke, 
or even sudden jarring, will cause the queen to seek the 
bottom of the hive, or some other place of refuge. 
Carefully raise off the top, without jarring the hive and 
alarming the bees, near you place an empty hive in 
which to put the frames as you take them out, examine 
carefully the combs in the centre or those first filled 
with brood ; and if the bees are not disturbed, they 
will be spread evenly over the surface, when the queen 
will be easily recognized, and can be picked up with 
the fingers. If the bees become alarmed, the queen 
being the most shy and retiring, will seek to conceal 
herself by hiding in a mass of bees, in the corners of 



46 farmers' guide to bee keeping. 

the hive, or anywhere, that she may be out of sight, 
when a close scrutiny will be needed to discover her. 
If you do not succeed in finding her, return the entire 
mass to the hive, and make the effort at some future 
day; or divide the swarm, putting one-half the con- 
tents in the empty hive, and, if possible, the greatest 
number of bees. Separate the combs in each, putting 
in only half the number, or even less would be prefer- 
able. In a few minutes the bees will become quiet, and 
the queen will leave her hiding-place, her locality being 
readily detected by the quietness of the bees near her, 
and their restlessness on the other combs. The combs 
must now be returned to the hive in the position they 
occupied before being removed. When the bees are 
returned to the hive destitute of a queen, they will at 
once commence operations to remedy the defect, by 
converting some of the worker larvae into queens, 
which can only be done before the seventh day, as at 
about that time all the eggs left, have passed that stage 
when it will be possible to change them thus. 

The combs must be again removed, and all royal 
cells that contain larvae cut off, as the safety of the new 
queen depends greatly on their entire removal. Mr. 
L. A. Aspinwall gives a very simple and easy process ; 
that of " immersing the queen in a little honey, slightly 
warmed, if necessary, and dropping her among the 
bees, they immediately commence licking her off, and 
forget that she is a usurper. 

This method is regarded the safest and surest by all 
practical apiarians for an inexperienced person ; but I 



ITALIAN OR L1GURIAN. , 47 

believe, the method above described, as practiced by 
Mr. Townley, equally as safe, provided the operator has 
sufficient experience to know when the bees are ready 
to receive a new queen. There are various other ways 
as practiced by different individuals, such as intoxica- 
ting the colony with tobacco smoke; scenting them 
with various perfumes, or drumming the hive, that the 
bees may fill themselves with honey, &c. All of which 
may do very well for those who raise their own queens, 
or have the means of readily replacing them if they are 
rejected or destroyed ; but for those who send a long 
distance and expend large sums in the effort to obtain 
the best, the experiment would prove extremely haz- 
zardous. 

TO ITALIANIZE AN APIARY. 

If it is desired to Italianize the entire apiary early 
in the spring, before the black drones are flying, the 
method as described by Mr. Townley, (see rearing 
queens,) appears preferable. The queen cells should be 
introduced in their cages, to every swarm before the 
black queen deposits drone eggs. Great care should be 
exercised, that all become fertilized, unless there is a 
large number of drones, which is not usually the case at 
that season of the year. There is another of changing 
an apiary, when there are a large number of colonies, 
which may incur less trouble than the foregoing, unless 
Mrs. Tupper's plan of artificial fertilization is adopted. 
The apiarian can raise, in one season, queens sufficient 
to supply all his colonies, no matter how many may be 



48 FARMERS' GUIDE TO liEE KEEPING. 

required ; he can raise them all in his own hives, and 
allow them to meet the native drones. This fertiliza- 
tion will produce mixed workers, for, as above stated, 
the impregnation of the queen does not affect her drone 
progeny. Give a queen to each colony and the next 
season, or if introduced early perhaps before, all the 
drones will be pure Italians. Now from these that arc 
pure raise another set of queens, your drones being all 
pure, and there being none others for them to meet, 
you will scarcely fail of obtaining pure workers for the 
second generation. It sometimes occurs that a queen 
will produce workers that are hybrid, but she should be 
removed as soon as discovered, and another introduced 
in her place. 

ITALIANIZING A BOX HIVE. 

There may be those who still have swarms in box 
hives which they wish to Italianize, this they can do, 
but it will consume some time in the manipulation, and 
will subject them to no little trouble. First, drive out 
the bees, then find and secure the queen, and permit 
the bees to return immediately into the hive. At the 
expiration of ten or twelve days they will raise them- 
selves a queen, and the one that hatches first, will de- 
stroy all the others. As soon as it is ascertained that 
she has destroyed all the young queens, which will be in 
two or three days, she, herself, must be destroyed before 
she commences laying, which is usually the case in 
about eight days. Again drive out the bees, find and 
destroy the queen, and return the bees to the hive. 



ITALIAN OR LIGURIAN. 49 

There being no possibility of their rearing another 
queen, the Italian may be introduced, after two -or three 
days, without a great deal of risk, if the usual precau- 
tion is exercised. 

ANOTHER METHOD. 

There is still another method by which a small 
apiary of box hives may be Italianized in one season, 
and with but one movable comb hive. First, then in- 
troduce into your colony occupying a movable comb 
hive, an Italian queen. Drive all the bees of a good 
stock into an empty hive, and set this on the stand. 
Take the hive from which the bees were driven, with its 
contents, to the stand of the one with movable combs. 
Lift out the combs and shake or brush the bees down by 
the box hive, which they will immediately enter. Now 
take the movable comb hive with contents to the other 
stand and put that colony in it, and your colonies have 
simply exchanged hives, and each will carry on its usual 
operations the same as if they had not been disturbed. 
The one with movable combs can now be controlled. 
After a few hours, when the bees have become quiet, 
take out the combs, find and destroy the common queen. 
In one week cut out all queen cells, give them an Italian 
queen, and when she has filled the combs with eggs, 
four or five days after, this colony may also be trans- 
ferred. Continue the process until all are changed. 
The cells cut out being Italians, may be put in the 
rearing boxes to hatch. 

When you have an Italian queen in a box hive for 



50 FARMERS GUIDE TO BEE KEEPING. 

one week, you can Italianize another colony by simply 
driving the bees from each hive and change places with 
the hives ; then put the bees back into the hives, 
simply changing the Italian bees to the black brood and 
vice versa. It will be necessary to catch and destroy 
the black queen, and the bees will raise a queen from the 
Italian brood in the hive. 



5* 



CHAPTER IV. 

THE HIVE. 

Next in importance to the bees, in the apiary, is the 
hive, and as the whole land literally teems with bee hive 
sharks, who are continually introducing their worthless 
wares on the ignorant or innocent bee-keepers, seeking 
whom they may devour, I trust you will bear with me, 
kind reader, while I point out some of the defects in 
many of the so-called improved hives before I describe 
what, in my opinion, constitutes a good hive. Every 
book, with one exception, heretofore written and pub- 
lished on apiculture in the United States, that has come 
to my observation, has been in the interest of some 
patent hive. Every bee journal and agricultural paper 
is filled with patent bee hive advertisements, until the 
whole land groans under the load of patents. I am 
sorry to be compelled to say that not less than ninety- 
nine per cent, are entirely valueless as bee homes. 

Some of them make very good ornaments, while 
others are indices of ingenuity, showing the amount of 
trouble some men have taken to more than double the 
labors of the industrious workers and render bee-keep- 
ing uncertain and profitless. 

Since the day that the Rev. Mr. Langstroth intro- 
duced the use of the movable combs, but one real im- 



52 FARMERS GUIDE TO BEE KEEPING. 

provement has been made in the bee hive, which I will 
point out at a proper time. All the other so-called im- 
provements and changes are undeserving of notice, 
while I unhesitatingly pronounce the whole legion 
worthless. 

DEFECTS OF HIVES. 

I will now proceed to present a few of the defects 
of some of them. First, all diamond hives, or those set 
cornerwise, with the entrance in the bottom and centre 
of the hive, are unsafe for wintering bees. During the 
winter, the dead bees drop down, and slide both from 
front and rear, to the bottom of the hive, close the en- 
trance, exclude the air, and the bees smother, unless you 
remove them from time to time, which is not always 
convenient, either with them in the winter dormitory or 
on the summer stands. 

Second, all hives with a back and bottom board, 
and the comb racks hung so as to swing open, like the 
leaves of a book, the hive opening with a door, and the 
contents drawn out in a body. In the latter part of 
summer, the bees carry in a large quantity of propolis 
with which they fill all cracks and flaws, as well as cover 
the inside of the hive ; and when you attempt to open the 
hive you must first cut it loose from the door, then from 
the sides, and on the top between the brood-chamber, 
and surplus honey arrangement, and then you are able 
to draw out the bees and combs. In a few minutes after 
they are drawn out, thousands of them are over the 
back, seeking shelter in the body of the hive ; you re- 
move some of the racks with combs, and when you 



hives. 53 

attempt to return them, there are so many of the bees in 
the way that you cannot do it readily ; when at last you 
succeed in replacing them, and wish to close the door, 
half the swarm are in the body of the hive ; these you 
brush out with a feather, and start to return the combs 
but to your chagrin, hundreds have again crossed over 
the back board, and you must work slowly, wait for them 
to cross back or crush thousands of them. At last you 
get the combs back to their place and attempt to close 
the door, but the bees are, many of them in the way, 
which you must smoke back, or again crush great num- 
bers. 

In many of the hives, the space between the brood- 
chamber and the surplus honey arrangement, is so open 
that the queen will go up and deposit the surplus honey 
combs full of drone eggs. 

Again, all back boards, bottom boards, and every 
unnecessary thing inside a hive, make good haunts for 
miller moth, so that many of the patent hives are com- 
plete moth nurseries ; and no man will be able to keep his 
stocks so strong, but that the miller will destrov them. 
One man has a wire-cloth bottom, that the moth may drop 
through, into a box underneath the hive, where they 
find plenty of the small scales of wax, which is their 
natural food, (and just what should be caught on a tight 
bottom board, that the bees could carry out of the hive) 
and there, undisturbed, they grow and thrive, wind 
themselves in their cocoons^ come out as millers, lay 
their eggs in the dirt, comb chits, and wax scales, and 



54 FARMERS GUIDE TO BEE KEEPING. 

in a few weeks have bred to thousands, and possibly, 
hundreds have crawled above to riot on the combs. 

Another man. has a moth trap — a modification of the 
latter but more expensive — his wire-cloth extends only 
under a portion of the hive ; but he has a drawer, and 
on each side of the entrance two holes with tin tubes, 
that the millers may slip under the bottom board, while 
any worms crawling on the central part of the hive may 
drop through, also, into this drawer. This, too, is a 
splendid moth nursery, where the worms riot and grow 
fat at their ease, and in the place of destroying the mil- 
lers, breed them by the thousand ; so that, whene> er you 
hear a man talking about a miller trap, bear in mind 
that the name is a misnomer, it being emphatically a 
green-horn trap with which to capture the innocent, un- 
suspecting novice. 

There are other hives that are made double, one 
box within another, splendid to breed millers ; and 
again others full of drawers — many of them entirely too 
expensive, (even if they were convenient and practicable), 
to be used by the majority of bee-keepers ; therefore, 
take my advice, — use no hive that is very expensive, ill- 
shaped, inconvenient for exploring the interior, or, 
indeed, any work inside the hive other than the 
simple comb frames. 

A good hive should possess the following points, viz. : 
i st, cheapness; 2d, simplicity ; 3d, durability; 4th, as 
good for winter as for summer ; 5th, that the combs may 
be removed without injuring or irritating the bees; 6th, 
that the bees may have free access to the surplus honey 



HIVES. 55 

arrangement ; 7th, that the surplus honey may be re- 
moved, without injuring or irritating the bees, and be in 
the best marketable condition ; 8th, that the bees may 
be able to store every ounce of honey that they can col- 
lect ; 9th, completely ventilated, that the bees may 
not suffocate and thousands of them hang on the out- 
side of the hive for air, in a hot day, idling away their 
time, nor yet smother in the winter ; 10th, that all of 
the heat from the hive may enter the surplus honey boxes, 
or chamber, to enable the bees to elaborate wax and 
make comb ; nth, that in case the bees are carrying in 
honey very rapidly, one set of boxes may be raised, 
and another set placed under them, to be filled while 
the upper ones are being sealed over ; or, if you wish 
strained honey — that is, honey removed with the mell- 
extractor that a second hive may be placed above the 
first, with less comb racks in it, in order that the bees 
may build store comb, which, after they are once made 
and filled, may be removed, emptied of honey, and re- 
turned to the hive without disturbing the queen and 
nursery ; 12th, that there be- no place in the hive where 
the miller moth can conceal itself and wind its cocoon ; 
13th, that there be no space between the top of the combs 
and bottom of the honey boxes, except a single quarter of 
an inch, to enable the bees to freely enter the honey boxes, 
or in case of the second hive but one-half inch, be- 
tween the top of the lower comb frames and the bottom 
of the upper comb frames ; 14th, that the bees may en- 
ter the surplus honey boxes from any part of the hive, 
without creeping through a hole in the honey board ; 



56 farmers' guide to bee keeping. 

15 th, that all necessary openings of the hive be guarded 
with a slide or button, which can be closed in a moment, 
if occasion requires, or so far closed as to prevent the 
escape of the queen, if desired, or the return of the 
drones, if it becomes necessary to remove them ; 16th, 
that the back end of the hive may be elevated so as to 
give the comb frames an angle of at least twenty-five 
degrees, to induce the bees to build straight combs, and 
also enable them to remove the debris from the bottom 
board with ease ; 17th, that the hive be so constructed 
that it can be shipped to any distance, with safety, or 
consuming too much time in preparing it for removal ; 
1 8th, that the boxes be covered with a tight cap to ex- 
clude the chilly air at night, and the excessive heat of 
the noonday sun, as well as the rains and storms, with 
a ventilation at each end to be opened on hot days and 
allow a current of air to pass over the honey boxes, thus 
aiding in evaporating the honey, and at the same time 
permit the excessive heat of the hive to escape in sum- 
mer, and in winter to carry off the moisture generated 
by the bees. 

MOVABLE COMB HIVES. 

I believe it is now very generally conceded by the 
best practical apiarians that the Rev. L. L. Langstroth 
has accomplished more to advance the science of apicul- 
ture, in the introduction of the movable comb frame, 
than the combined ingenuity that has been expended or 
devised from their first introduction, to the present time. 
In fact, nearly all the patent hives that have been placed 



hives. 5 7 

in market since his was patented, make use of the movable 
comb frames in some form which accomplish the same ob- 
ject. It has never been my good fortune (if I may so call 
it,) to obtain a movable comb frame so cheap and simple, 
and at the same time so easily removed from the hive, 
as the Langstroth frame, the book style and side-open- 
ing hive, to the contrary notwithstanding. 

SOME OF THE ADVANTAGES NOT FOUND IN BOX HIVES. 

What bee-keeper, using the old box hive, has not 
seen some of his stocks most promising in the spring, 
containing the brightest combs, (perhaps a swarm of the 
past season,) with sufficient amount of stores and a 
strong colony of bees, begin to dwindle away without 
any apparent cause ? And how often has he wished for 
some means by which he could inspect the interior and 
ascertain if the queen were lost or barren ; or whether 
the brood had become diseased ? Those of us who are 
using the movable frame hive are happy to say, that 
when such is the case, we have but to remove the top of 
the hive, blow a little tobacco smoke among the bees, 
raise out the frames containing the comb and make the 
necessary examination. If the colony proves to be 
queenless and you have an extra one, she may be intro- 
duced, or one or more frames can be exchanged for one 
or more from another hive that is in a prosperous con- 
dition — care being taken that the exchanged frame con- 
tain eggs or larvae in different stages of development, 
or at a proper age from which the bees may rear a queen. 
If the queen is barren she can easily be removed, and a 



58 farmers' guide to bee keeping. 

fertile one substituted ; and if it contain diseased brood 
it should be treated according to directions given in 
chapter on diseased brood, which see, and in the end 
the life of the stocks saved from the ravages of the 
moth miller. 

How often has he observed in autumn some of his 
colonies with an insufficient supply of honey to carry 
them through the winter, while others have a supera- 
bundance ; and without being able to equalize this sup- 
ply, the life of the light stock must necessarily become 
jeopardized. With the movable frames we have but to 
take one or more frames from the full hive, and transfer 
them to the light one, and save the light colony from 
annihilation, otherwise they must be sacrificed over the 
brimstone pit, and their scanty stores are all that re- 
mains of them ; while the old boxes, or perhaps the old 
salt barrels, are lying in ignominous heaps, monuments 
of an unconquerable prejudice, awaiting the advent of 
another season. 

He may desire an increase of colonies by swarm- 
ing ; but his bees remain clustered on the outside of the 
hive, utterly refusing to swarm, the entire summer. Me- 
thinks he would gladly welcome any invention, by means 
of which he could swarm them artificially or at will, 
and still have it safe and profitable. This also can be 
accomplished by dividing the combs, and following the 
directions given in the chapter on Artificial Swarming. 
Still another case of the superiority of the movable 
frame, over the box hive ; he may desire a hive by means 
of which he could prevent his bees from swarming. To 



hives, 59 

illustrate, I will relate a little conversation had with a 
bee keeper, a few weeks since. One day I called upon 
a farmer but a few miles from this place, to look at his 
bees, and have a friendly talk with him. He had five 
stocks that had wintered through, and appeared to be in 
good condition. I asked him how many colonies he 
had the spring before? He replied "five," just the 
number he had this spring; but says he, "I had 
eighteen at one time last summer," but he said, as I 
have heard others say before, " they swarmed themselves 
to death. ' ' I told him that I could tell him what be- 
came of his bees. His five old stocks were so reduced by 
swarming three times each, that the moth miller found 
no difficulty in entering and exterminating what re- 
mained ; and that he took up, or consigned to the 
brimstone pit, the light stocks which he thought had 
not sufficient stores upon which to winter through, and 
I supposed that he had two objects in view, one was to 
kill the bees, and the other to get their honey, as that 
was all the surplus he obtained that year. The balance 
of his stocks, eight in number, went into winter quarters 
in apparently good condition. After passing the long 
winter months in fear, lest his bees should not winter 
through, when the first warm rays of the sun in March 
brought forth the bees from their long confinement, he 
counted them, and to his utter dismay, found that he 
had but five left ; and these were invariably the first 
swarms that issued from the old stocks. 

We have in the movable comb hive only to take 
out the combs seven days after the first swarm issues, 



6o farmers' guide to bee keeping. 

and cut off all of the queen cells except one, if none are 
hatched, and swarming is arrested for the season ; or if 
you are working your bees for honey, you can, by a lit- 
tle skill, prevent them from over-swarming, by putting 
on the surplus honey boxes, and inducing the young 
bees to enter them. To this class of bee keepers I 
write, and think that the pages of this book could not 
contain all the reasons why the movable comb hive 
should supercede the old box hive ; or were I to occupy 
the entire space with a consideration of this subject, I 
should fail to do it justice ; but a few points more, and 
I leave this matter to you. 

You have often found some of your swarms con- 
structing entirely too much drone comb, rendering the 
stock unprofitable ever after, from the multitude of 
drones reared, frequently hundreds of times more than 
required, and their only avocation being to idle around 
and consume all the surplus honey the colony can 
gather. How desirable, then, to substitute worker for 
drone comb, and thus convert the unprofitable colony 
into one of profit. With movable comb hives, it is 
only necessary to cut out the drone comb, and insert in 
its place worker comb, the same as in transferring ; and 
to this end all pieces of good worker comb should be 
saved. 

When the miller worm has affected a lodgement in 
the combs, could the bee keeper have access to the in- 
erior, he could attack them in their strongholds, but in 
the movable comb hive, they can be traced to their 



6i 



hiding places, be brought forth, and exterminated with 
ease. 

There are times when it is desirable to know the 
amount of honey on hand, also of the bee bread or pol- 
len, and could the surface of each comb be examined, the 
amount could be detetmined without difficulty; and 
with the movable comb hive any deficiency could be 
supplied, or surplus removed. 

The amount of brood, that the colony shall raise, 
can, at any time be controlled ; and instead of limiting 
the area of comb used for that purpose to a very small 
space, it may be' enlarged to any extent practicable, by 
removing full combs to one side, and introducing empty 
ones in their stead ; notwithstanding the danger of re- 
ceiving more stings, and the greater expense of con- 
struction. 

There is a class of bee-keepers, and their number is 
constantly on the increase, who understand the value 
and profit of these conveniences, and who will make it 
pay to use them. 

I do not anticipate that what has been said in re- 
gard to the movable comb hive, will- turn all bee-keep- 
ers who are using the old box hive into the path of 
science, and convince them that one swarm of bees 
properly managed, in such hive, is worth two in the old 
box or gum ; but I do hope to influence a goodly share 
of them, together with the assistance of those who are 
writing for the bee journals, and the agricultural papers, 
setting forth the progress made on every hand, that in 
time the old box hive may be altogether abandoned. 



62 farmers' guide to bee keeping. 

while in their stead we may behold these beautiful bee 
mansions scattered about the farmers' yard, conveying 
to the mind of the passer-by, the idea that that man is 
master of his profession and is keeping his bees for 
profit. 

When I commenced in my apiarian pursuits I used 
only the old box such as is still seen and used in nearly 
all the apiaries. I at once commenced improving my 
hive as much as was possible, but finding that its defects 
were legion, I began experimenting with the different 
styles of patent hives that were presented to the atten- 
tion of bee-keepers, trying one after another, until I had 
used eight different ones, but I soon discovered that the 
most of the so-called improvements were for the man, 
and not for the bee, I rejected them, and finally decided 
upon the cheapest, plainest, and most simple movable 
comb hive that can be made, and one that is adopted by 
the majority of bee-keepers, unless it be those who have 
a patent of their own to offer. 

THE SIZE OF THE HIVE. 

The size of the hive should depend somewhat upon 
the locality, the bees, and the object of the apiculturist. 
If a large number of colonies are desired, and the bees 
are allowed to swarm naturally, the hive should be small. 
If the main object is honey, the hive should be larger; 
and if for Italian bees, at least one-tenth larger than for 
the natives. The hive must also correspond in size and 
shape to the surplus honey receptacles. With the hive 
I am using I have succeeded in a most happy manner 



HIVES. 63 

in adapting the hive and the honey boxes to each other ; 
making use of a medium sized hive, but still capacious 
enough for Italian bees, and without encouraging them 
to excessive swarming. 

The air space of the hive being 2,567 inches, the 
space inside the comb racks containing 2,184 inches* a 
space sufficiently large to contain 75,000 worker cells, 
or 48,000 drone cells, so that in case of but a moderate 
amount of drone cells, and the combs one-third full of 
honey, there would be about 48,000 worker cells for the 
use of the queen or 2,300 daily; sufficient to increase 
and fill the hive very rapidly. 

The majority of practical bee-keepers seem to agree 
in the idea that for this latitude, 42^ degrees north, a 
proper hive must ^contain in area, about one bushel, 
which is the size of the body or breeding part of the one 
I am now using. The excess of inches being as small 
as can be used for the space occupied by the frames, the 
space between the racks and the side walls of the hive, I 
think no detriment, as it affords better ventilation, and 
at the same time gives the bees more room, who, in- 
stead of clustering on the outside of the hive, can re- 
main on the inside, and thus assist in a great measure in 
keeping up the warmth of the hive necessary to facilitate 
breeding. 

HIVES ALL ALIKE. 

No man, unless for the purpose of experimenting, 
will ever have but one sized hive in his apiary. Every 
hive should be the exact size of all the others ; so that 
the inside or comb frames of one, will fit in all ; he can 



64 farmers' guide to bee keeping. 

then change the frames from one to the other at will, 
and without much trouble or loss of time, thus giving 
him full control of all his hives, and enabling him to 
change the combs as often, and whenever it becomes 
necessary ; as in artificial swarming, queen raising, feed- 
ing a light stock, removing the miller moth, &c. 

On the contrary, if he has a half dozen different 
kinds of movable comb hives, he is in constant per- 
plexity, often wishing to exchange a comb, but is una- 
ble because the frame will not fit, or if he wishes to use 
empty comb, the same trouble exists ; before it can be 
used it must be transferred to a frame that will fit the 
hive he wishes to introduce it into, and this is seldom 
done without a loss of some of the comb, and often 
times it is so soon filled with honey, ithat it will break 
down before the bees have secured it in the frame. 

SHALLOW VS. TALL HIVES. 

There has been much written in favor of tall hives 
as being best to winter bees in, and I believe they are 
generally considered by the mass of bee-keepers, as be- 
ing safer than]shallow ones; but from my own experience, 
I must prefer a medium depth hive. Now, while I am 
free to admit that they have their advantages, I must 
speak of their disadvantages, which are not few, and 
frequently of a two-fold character. First, as has often 
been claimed, they permit the heated air or breath of 
the bees to ascend, which being moist, is, in extreme 
cold weather, deposited in large quantities in the shape 
of frost on the combs directly above the cluster of bees ; 



HIVES. 65 

and the taller the hive, (when speaking of tall hives, I 
mean those that are from fifteen inches, to two feet 
high,) the more frost there will be above the bees, as 
more space will be afforded for its deposit, and, instead 
of being best adapted to the wants of the honey bee 
during the winter, it, under such circumstances, is often 
the means by which they are destroyed, for it not un- 
frequently happens, that a few days of severe cold 
weather, is followed by a sudden thaw, and the frost 
melting above the bees, in descending completely wets 
them, and all that is necessary at this particular time to 
cause their entire destruction, is another severe freeze, 
which frequently occurs, and the only reason why we 
do not oftener have colonies lost in this way, is that 
these severe frosts are sometimes gradually superceded 
by degrees of temperature sufficiently warm to slowly 
melt the frost off the combs, thus giving the bees time 
to dry themselves about as fast as the water falls upon 
them. 

Look into the top of a tall hive after one, two or 
three weeks of severe cold weather, and what do you 
see? invariably one solid mass of frost, the combs com- 
pletely hidden from view, and all, or nearly all of this 
over the cluster of bees. It often occurs that on a 
warm day following a severe cold spell, the water may be 
seen running from the hive, if the bottom board is a 
little inclined, and again, this water freezing as it ap- 
proaches the cold air at the entrance, by closing or 
nearly closing the opening, the sudden destruction of 
the colony by suffocation is the consequence. 



66 farmers' guide to bee keeping. 

Another objection to the tall hive is, that in the 
early part of the season or spring, the heat from the 
bees is permitted to ascend, at a time when it should be 
as much as possible, confined to the cluster, in order 
that early breeding may be promoted. 

Now, if we dispense with the tall form of hive, and 
adopt the long, wide, shallow form, we shall have 
gained but little ; as in that case the heated air escapes 
from the cluster by passing to either end of the hive, 
which is also objectionable. Thus, it will be seen that 
we have two extremes to avoid in the construction of 
our hives; namely, the depth of the tall hive, and the 
length and width of the shallow hive ; and in avoiding 
these two extremes, caution must be observed that we 
do not drop into a third extreme, viz.: that of contract- 
ing the dimensions of our surplus honey arrangements. 
Were I to construct a hive expressly for breeding and 
wintering successfully, I would make the length and 
width equal, although a hive of that shape would not be 
as well adapted for surplus honey, and still have it in 
good marketable form. 

HIVE AS USED BY THE AUTHOR. 

The hive I am now using is seventeen inches long, 
inside, thirteen inches wide, and eleven and three- 
quarters inches deep, and contains nine comb frames. 
After giving it a thorough trial, I am well satisfied that 
the shape of the hive, and the arrangement of the 
frames are all that can be desired. The depth is as great 
as the combs will sustain when filled with honey, and for 
a greater depth, it would be necessary to pass a strip 



HIVES. 67 

through the center, paralled with the top piece, in order 
to support the upper part of the comb, this strip being 
objectionable for the reason that it occupies one inch in 
depth of the capacity of the frame, and giving so much 
more room in the hive to be kept warm. This space I 
prefer to have occupied with worker comb. I know 
that some will say that it will make a passage through 
which the bees can get from one side of the comb to 
the other, but it is far preferable to lift out the combs, 
and cut out about three one-inch holes, which will make 
much less unoccupied space in the hive, and answer 
every purpose of a winter passage, \ihich is only ne- 
cessary when the bees are wintered in a dormitory, 
expressly for that purpose, or in a cellar. 

With the rear end of the hive elevated so that it 
will stand at an angle of about twenty-five degrees, the 
bees will store the honey for winter consumption, in the 
top of the frames and at the back end, and rear their 
brood in the front, and using nearly every comb for that 
purpose. This being the rule in properly managed 
stocks. 

When winter approaches, there are sufficient empty 
cells in the front of the hive, and honey in the other, to 
last the bees through, the cold weather, without obliging 
them to change from one comb to another to obtain 
supplies ; they have but to move backward as the honey 
is consumed, on the same principle that they would 
move upward in a hive deeper from top to bottom, than 
from front to rear, thus avoiding the excess of moisture 
above them, as in the tall hive. 



68 farmers' guide to bee keeping. 

The frames should not be the longest from top to 
bottom, for three reasons. First, you could not raise a 
frame seventeen inches in depth, out of a hive, and re- 
turn it again without touching the sides occasionally 
and thus arousing the bees. Second, on account of the 
excessive moisture collecting in the top of the hive, and 
dripping down on the cluster, as is the case with all tall 
hives, and third, there would not be sufficient room on 
the top for surplus boxes. When placed horizontal 
there is one-third more room for this purpose, on the 
top, than when perpendicular. 

DIRECTIONS FOR CONSTRUCTING THE MOVABLE COMB HIVE, 
AS USED BY THE AUTHOR. 

Fully believing the hive I use to possess and com- 
bine more good qualities than any other hive now 
used, I give the following directions for its manufacture : 

Procure good pine lumber, twelve inches wide and 
one inch thick. I have it planed on both sides, reducing 
it to seven-eights of an inch. One object in planing 
them on the outside is, that they may be painted, and 
present a neat and tasty appearance, and thus preserve 
the lumber. On the inside, because these hives having 
frames to assist the bees in holding fast, the smooth 
surface is an advantage, as it saves the bees the trouble 
of waxing over the rough places. 

I saw all the material for the hives by machinery, and 
more particularly the small stuff, as it saves much more 
labor than to saw it by hand, and I claim that it is just 
as essential to saw the large pieces by machinery, because 



6 9 



a box so made is worth twenty per cent, more than 
when made by hand, as every joint is perfectly square, 
and when nailed together, has not to be squared and 
trued up, which often consumes much time, and be- 
sides, when done by machinery every piece is an exact 
duplicate of the other, if properly done, with a good 
machine and a competent mechanic. 




SIMPLE MOVABLE COMB HIVE. 

Saw the end pieces just 13^ inches long, and 11^ 
inches wide, the sides, i8|^ inches long, and of the 
same width as the ends ; cut a rabbet on the upper edge 
of the end pieces on the inside ^ of an inch wide, and 
%& of an inch deep, to receive the ends of the comb 
frames ; also cut a rabbet on the ends of the side pieces 
J/& of an inch wide, and ^ of an inch deep, to receive 
the end pieces ; this makes a double joint, and makes 



70 FARMERS GUIDE TO BEE KEEPING. 

the hive tight. The rabbeting can all be done on a good 
buzz saw, and much faster and truer than can be done 
by hand. 

The whole is now thoroughly nailed together, mak- 
ing a box 17 inches long, 13 inches wide, and 11^ 
inches deep, inside measure without top or bottom. At 
the bottom, in one end make an entrance, by sawing 
out a piece 4 inches long by }i of an inch deep, or what 
I think is better, saw a piece off of the bottom of one 
end the whole length, a little beveling, )4 inch on 
the outside, and ^ of an inch on the inside. 
Saw out 4 inches from the centre of the piece, 
and place the two ends back where they came from, 
then when you need to clean the bottom board or give 
the bees a larger entrance, they can be removed. 

The bottom board should be made of lumber 14^ 
inches wide, not necessary to be planed only on the 
upper side, and should be cut 22 inches long. Across 
the front end nail a piece one inch square to prevent its 
warping ; now nail to the bottom of the hive, or put on 
with screws so that it can be removed without jarring 
the bees. In having the bottom board fastened it keeps 
the hive square, and is much more convenient to move 
from place to place if necessary, and I find the bees 
will keep it clean if the back end of the hive is raised 
ahout four inches higher than the front. Bees do not 
hesitate in picking up one of their dead comrades and 
going down hill with him, while, if they had to carry 
him up hill, they would find it a very laborious task. 

Now bore a hole 1 inch or 1^ in the front and 



HIVES. 71 

back end, in the centre, about three inches from the 
top, and put over the same a button to close at will. 
The back one should have a small piece of wire-cloth 
nailed over it on the inside, to serve as a ventilator, to 
be used in very hot weather ; and also when you wish 
to move the hive from one locality to another, the front 
one can be used as an entrance in the busy season. 

Saw out some pieces one inch square to nail around 
the top of the hive one-half inch from the top or below 
it, for the cap to rest upon. If you wish to ornament 
the hive these pieces can be an ogee moulding, or that 
cut into dentals would present a very tasteful appear- 
ance. The cap to cover the boxes may be ornamented 
in the same manner, giving the whole a finished appear- 
ance with but little trouble or expense. 

The cap to cover the hive is made by sawing out 
two pieces for the ends, 14^ inches long, 7 inches 
wide at the ends, and 9 inches wide in the centre. This 
will give sufficient pitch to carry off the water readily, 
and is much better than a flat roof. The side pieces 
should be 20^ inches long by 7 inches in width, with 
two pieces for the roof 23 inches long and 10 inches 
wide, so as to project about 1 inch at the ends and sides. 
The sides and roof may be one-inch lumber if preferred. 
I usually make them by sawing two -inch plank int o 
three pieces, and planing the outside only. There 
should be a hole bored in each end, near the peak, and 
covered with wire-cloth, and button the same as in 
the rear of the hive. Also, get out a strip 2 inches 
wide, 7/% inch thick, and of the length of the roof 



72 farmers' guide to bee keeping. 

boards. Hollow out one side, which can best be done 
on a buzz saw, to fit on the top of the roof, which 
will make a perfect roof, and the whole when finished 
and painted white will make a very beautiful little 
house. 

The hive being completed, it should be covered 
with something beside the cap, and I would recom- 
mend a cover made of two pieces of boards 1 2 inches 
wide and 28 inches long, nailed together in the same 
shape as the roof of the cap ; being large enough to 
project over the sides and ends, to protect them from 
the direct rays of the scorching sun. 

I much prefer a cover of this kind and have my 
bees stand in the open field, than have them set in one 
of the old-fashioned bee-houses which you will see scat- 
tered about here and there, boarded on three sides, or 
even prefer them to setting my bees under trees where 
the sun seldom strikes them. 

The comb frames are made of five pieces each. 
The top pieces is 17^1 inches long, i*4 inch wide, 
and -j? T inch thick. The two pieces for the ends are 
10^6 inches long, J/% of an inch wide, and fV of an 
inch thick. One piece for the bottom, 16^ inches 
long, $& of an inch wide and }( of an inch thick. The 
guides to start the bees to work straight comb, I make a 
piece 16 inches long, )£ of an inch square; this I nail 
on the under side of the top piece, cornerwise, making 
a small level edge with a recess above, on each side, 
very convenient for the bees to cluster on when first 
hived, and has proved very worthy of a recommenda- 



hives. 73 

tion wherever they have been used ; in fact, I think it is 
the best guide in use— taking up but very little room, 
not half the amount occupied in many of the hives now 
in use. I use nine frames, in thirteen inches, a trifle 
less than i^ inch from centre to centre. I have used 
frames with this space between them for several years 
past, and am well pleased with it, as it prevents the 
construction of so much drone comb, which is very 
undesirable, particularly in the breeding department; 
but in the surplus honey boxes we cannot have too 
much. 

BEST SURPLUS BOXES. 

The reader will notice that I have given no descrip- 
tion of a honey board, — for the simple reason that I 
never use one. I think them a detriment to the result 
of the yield of surplus honey. I construct my box to 
answer every purpose of a honey board, and thus save 
the expense, which would be no small item for a large 
number of hives. 

I find that I can induce my bees to work much 
earlier and faster in the boxes, if they are not com- 
pelled to crawl up through a hole in the honey board, 
which are usually one inxjh in thickness, and there being 
from one to six holes over which the boxes are set. The 
honey box I use I make of small frames or sections, and 
by placing seven of them side by side, the whole 
securely fastened together by nailing two strips of pine, 
% of an inch square on the bottom, which also serve, 
as an air chamber for the bees under the boxes. I also 



74 FARMERS GUIDE TO BEE KEEPING. 

paste white paper over the top and sides, which holds 
them together and renders the boxes air-tight. 

For the frames I take good pine plank and plane 
it on both sides to ij4 of an inch in thickness, then 
pass it through a buzz saw, cutting into strips }£ of an 
inch thick, which will be }( inch by iji inch ; cut 
these strips into pieces 5^ inches long — these will be 
for the sides ; for the tops and bottoms, I make for the 
top pieces of five of the frames, and the bottom pieces 
of the the whole seven frames, pieces that are only 1$/% 
inch wide by % inch, and 6 inches long. For the top 
of the two end frames I use pieces that are ^ inch 
thick by two inches wide and 6 inches long, these to 
project about ^ inch to receive the glass. 

The best method of putting them together is by 
tenons and mortises ; — to do which requires seven buzz 
saws on one arbor, yi inch thick to make the mortises, 
and the saws to be set the right distance apart to leave 
the tenons between the saws. Saw into the ends of the 
side pieces, just }£ of an inch deep, or as deep as your 
lumber is thick, making 7 mortises and 8 tenons ; and 
for the tops and bottoms use six saws, making 6 mor- 
tises and 7 tenons, and for the two end top pieces use 
7 saws, leaving one tenon on one edge }£ of an inch 
wide, and 7 tenons }£ of an inch wide, and 7 mortises. 

The above method would be too expensive unless 
a bee-keeper had occasion to use a large number of 
boxes, in which case it would be much the cheapest, as 
any one could put them up in good style when once 
sawed out. If one should requre only a few hundred 



hives. 75 

boxes, it would be cheaper to send to me or some one 
else who has the conveniences for making them in this 
way, and have them sent packed in boxes or barrels. 
Another method of putting them together, is to nail 
them with patent brads, but is a very tedious task. 
Should they be nailed, the top and bottom pieces should 
be of the same length as the sides. Each process of 
putting together will make the frames 5^ inches high 
and 6 inches wide. Now put the seven frames to- 
gether, in shape to make a large box, with the two 
pieces with tops projecting at the ends ; nail on the 
small strips the whole length of the bottom, which will 
make the box 6 inches high ; then nail a piece ^ of an 
inch wide, 6 inches long across each end at the bottom, 
to hold the glass in place, which should be 5 by 6, and 
can be securely fastened by small brads. This forms a 
light box, one that no person will object to paying for. 
When full it will weigh 15 lbs, and three such boxes cover 
the hive. When turned over on their sides they make a 
a tight cover over the bees, and when set right side up, 
form a passage the whole length of them, over the comb 
frames. 

In the bottom of each box are srx entrances, ^ of 
an inch by 5 ^ inches. There are also slots correspond- 
ing with them in the top, only those in the top are cov- 
ered with paper. The advantages of this style of boxes 
are numerous. They being set upon the comb frames 
of the hive, the bees will find their way into them 
much quicker than they would if there was a top, or 
honey board, with scattering holes for them to pass 



76 farmers' guide to bee keeping. 

through. Besides, when the boxes are on the comb 
frames, the bees work in them with much more vigor, 
than when it seems to them that they are storing their 
honey away from home ; and I find this the principal cause 
of complaint that is everywhere made — "that the bees do 
not work in the caps. ' ' . 

If you were to make the old-fashioned box hive, I 
would put slats across the top, instead of a board with 
holes. 

It will be found of great advantage to stick fast to 
each top piece of the boxes a small piece of empty white 
comb, which will guide the bees in building the combs 
in the direction you may wish ; besides inducing them 
to commence work in them several days sooner than if 
they had to start the combs themselves. Pieces of comb 
one inch wide and two inches long, will be sufficient, 
always observing to put them in the same side up that 
they were built, for the reason that the cells always de- 
scend a little towards the centre, and thus prevent the 
honey running out. To fasten them securely, melt one 
edge by the fire, or have a shallow dish , with melted 
wax over the fire ; dip one edge into the hot wax and 
apply to the frame*before cooling. I firmly believe that 
such pieces of comb are worth ten dollars per pound to 
any man, many times more than they would be for wax. 
For a supply of such combs I save all empty, clean, 
white pieces, when removing combs from the hive or 
boxec. I also empty all unsealed combs from the boxes, 
rather than sell a- box partly filled. 

These boxes are so constructed that in case the 



hives. 77 

bees carry in honey very rapidly, and you wish to, you 
can separate the sections, (after numbering them, or 
otherwise marking them, that they may be replaced as 
they were before separating,) place them in the honey 
extractor, throw the honey from the combs, put the 
boxes together, and replace them on the hive again to 
be refilled, which operation can be repeated as often 
as the combs are filled. In case the boxes are 
used in this manner, it would be necessary to have an 
extra set to place on the hive, as soon as those already 
filled are removed, and after emptying, change with the 
next hive, and so on. The profit of this proceedure 
will be given in the chapter on the honey extractor, as 
also the arrangement of the hive for that purpose. 

It has been observed by all apiculturists that bees 
store honey much faster in large boxes than in small 
ones ; and although my boxes are large, each holding 
15 lbs., they yet possess all the advantages of the 
small ones. By the aid of a pen-knife, they can, at any 
time, be divided into seven sections, each section 
holding about two pounds, or any number of pounds 
to suit customers, and without the annoyance of hav- 
to cut the comb and thus allow the honey to escape, 
as is the case when the common large box is used. 
I contemplate making, during the coming winter, 
(187 1 and 1872), a new box the size of the present 
one, but have it contain five frames instead of seven. 
When full it is divided into five parts — then put a light 
of glass on each side, of each box or section ; when filled 
to weigh about 3^ lbs. This style of box I find is 



78 farmers' guide to bee keeping. 

in as much favor with the grocer or retailer, as the 
one I now use. The box, honey and glass, are always 
sold together, no tare being deducted ; hence, the 
apiarian will get more than cost of his box, and make 
a good profit in selling lumber and glass at the price of 
honey. 

TWO SETS OF BOXES AT ONCE. 

I have, for several years, practised using two sets 
of boxes at the same time ; and have always been re- 
warded with good results. The bee-keepers of the old 
school are generally in the habit of leaving the boxes 
on the hive until the cells are entirely capped over. I 
find the method very predjucial to their interests. When 
the room diminishes the bees become less active, and 
begin to idle away their time — especially if the box is 
allowed to remain on the hive until the honey is entirely 
capped over. Precious time is lost by the bees, even if the 
box is full. The work of capping goes on slowly, and it 
usually occurs in the very best of the honey season. Be- 
sides, when full boxes arc replaced by empty ones, the bees 
are discouraged by the loss, and sometimes several days 
elapse before they resume their work in the empty boxes; 
hence, a great loss of honey to the bee-keeper. To 
avoid these two inconveniences, as soon as the box is 
full or nearly so, ready to be capped, or just as they 
commence to cap, if there is a prospect of the honey 
season continuing for a week or two longer, the bee- 
keeper should raise up the full boxes, open the holes 
through the top of a new set, and place them under the 
full ones. The bees being obliged to pass through the 



hives. 79 

empty boxes to reach the honey in the upper ones, find- 
ing a vacant space, will work with renewed activity to 
fill it up. The capping of the cells will not be delayed, 
and almos^invariably the honey crop will be double 
what it would have been had the first boxes been allowed 
to remain on the hive until entirely capped. If the 
honey season is unusually good, the same process may be 
repeated by putting on another set of boxes in the same 
manner, as soon as the full boxes are removed. "When 
treating swarms in this manner it will be necessary to 
make a frame six inches high to place on the hive, on 
which to set the cap, to exclude the light from the glass, 
or the bees will cover it with propolis, which would ob- 
scure the transparency. 

For the profit of the above procedure, perhaps it 
would not be out of place here, to give a few figures, 
that the reader may better understand how the large 
yields of box honey are obtained. At the end of one 
week, with a good swarm, and in a good season, the 
boxes would be ready to raise up ; at that time there 
would be about twelve pounds in each box or thirty-six 
pounds in all. It will now be one week more before 
they will be capped over, if they are allowed to remain, 
and in the meantime only three pounds can be put in 
each box, or nine pounds in all, that will be the amount 
stored for the week. Now, if they are raised up, they 
will, in the week that they are capping the boxes, put in 
the nine pounds in the upper boxes, and have the lower 
set ready, or nearly so, to raise up; containing the 
thirty-six pounds added to the nine pounds gives forty- 



80 farmers' guide to bee keeping. 

five pounds for the week, or thirty-six pounds gain, by 
using the second set of boxes. I usually obtain two 
sets of boxes from a swarm by treating them as above 
described, and also one new swarm, but when#I obtain 
three or four sets, as I have frequently done, I am then 
obliged to call my hive a non-swarmer; and I some- 
times think it is the best way to make a non-swarming 
hive, as it is usually attended with as good results as any 
of the pretended non-swarmers. 

COMMON BOX HIVES. 

I do not suppose that all I have said in regard to 
the movable comb hive, and all that is being said daily 
through the columns of the bee journals, and period- 
icals which are now having a wide circulation, will con- 
vert all bee-keepers from the use of the common box 
hive ; hence I deem it my duty to give my experience 
in making them, as near to the requirements of the 
bees, and as much to the profit of the apiarian, as is 
possible to do. Surely, the common box hive was an 
improvement on the old straw hive, in one particular, 
that of being better adapted to the obtaining of surplus 
honey; while in another it is inferior, that is, in winter- 
ing. I am informed by Mr. Asa Chapin, of West 
Bloomfield, N. Y., that my uncle, Alvin Wilcox, of the 
same place, (now deceased,) a bee-keeper of some 
prominence, in the year 1834, commenced the use of 
hives made from boards and with surplus honey boxes. 
In the year 1835 he had more than half of his swarms in 
box hives, and in that year he took honey to New York, 



being the first ever taken into that city put up in boxes. 
I am informed that it met with a ready sale there, and 
at the moderate price of fifty cents per pound. In the 
followin^year he carried to the same market over 5,700 
pounds of this luxury. His was so constructed as to 
allow two boxes to slide in on the top ; these boxes con- 
tained about ten pounds of honey each, and if I re- 
member -correctly, by seeing the last five hives that 
graced his yard at the time of his death, some ten years 
since, that they were made with a slanting bottom board. 
Mr. J. M. Weeks, of Middlebury, Vt., obtained the 
first patent on a bee hive that was ever obtained in the 
United States — I think in the year 1838, but we do not 
deem it of sufficient importance at the present time, to 
search the Patent Office records for the exact date of 
that patent. As this was the only patent bee hive known 
at that time, and patents were not viewed in the same 
light that they are now, viz.., any thing for a patent, 
good, bad or indifferent, the consequence was, that it 
soon passed into general use, so that in due course of 
time, nearly all the prominent bee-keepers were using 
them, and without doubt considered them the ne phis 
ultra, as they could now get honey ,in boxes, while 
previous to this, such a thing as surplus honey in 
boxes was hardly known ; and all former hives were 
either common boxes or made of straw, of the sugar 
"loaf form, with no particular accommodations for sur- 
plus honey, and whenever any was needed, it was ob- 
tained by placing the hive over the brimstone pit. Oc- 
casional^ now, there are contributors to the columns of 



82 .farmers' guide to i;ee keeping, . 

the bee journals who still sing many changes in praise 
of the old box hive ; usually signing a fictitious name 
to their productions, such as "Old Fogie" and the 
like ; and I am ever pleased to see the editor's remarks 
at the close, setting forth the fact, that no form of hive 
can ever again find favor with progressive bee-keepers 
that does not produce ample surplus honey arrangements, 
and also for the ready use of the honey extracting 
machine. 

In giving directions for making the box hive, we 
would recommend the one used in years past, by that 
practical apiculturist, Mr. M. Quimby, of St. Johns- 
ville, N. Y., as described by him on page 61 of "Bee- 
keeping Explained." For many years, and even at this 
date, the hive is known in the State of New York as 
the Quimby hive, although he acknowledges that he has 
no claim to the name of the hive, as it was made and 
used long before his day ; but I think he need not be 
ashamed to allow his name to be used in connection 
with the hive that was once the pride of his apiary, but 
which was long ago superceded by the movable comb 
hive. 

DIRECTIONS for MAKING BOX Hi 

Select boards one inch thick, and twelve and four- 
teen inches wide, which would be the proper width to 
make the hive twelve inches square inside ; fourteen and 
a half inches deep will be about the right depth to make 
the hive contain about 2,000 cubic inches, the proper 
size for this latitude. In making box hives, it is ad- 
visable to plane the boards only on the outside, to re- 



HIVES. 83 

ceive paint readily, the inside should be left rough, as 
the bees would experience much difficulty in attaching 
their comb to a smooth surface, therefore the trouble of 
planing the inside is worse than useless. The grain of 
the wood should always run up and down, never cross- 
wise, unless well painted, as the nails would in a few 
years draw out. 

A hole one inch in diameter in the front, about 
two-thirds of the way up from the bottom, is a great 
convenience to the bees, coming home heavily laden, 
but should be kept open, only during the honey harvest. 
An entrance should be made in the bottom of one side 
about four inches by half an inch high, and it would be 
desirable to place the hive on a bottom board instead of 
setting on a plank or board that not unfrequently warps 
out of all shape, so that the bees would have an en- 
trance on the back of the hive, as well as the front to 
guard from robbers and the miller moth. 

For the top of the hive I would recommend the 
use of slats or strips, instead of a board with holes. 
Procure eight pieces, 12 inches long, iji inch wide, 
y 2 inch thick, place them in the top 3/q of an inch 
apart, and ^ of an inch below the top, and nail through 
the hive into them, which secures them in their places ; 
these will be sufficient for the bees to fasten their combs 
to, and they will ascend much sooner into the boxes f 
than they would through holes in a board. Across 
these slats should be laid four or five strips, }( of an 
inch square, for the boxes to rest upon, if the common 
box is used : if my style of box, the slats should be 



84 FARMERS* GUIDE fO BEE KEEPING. 

nailed even with the top, as the strip is on the bottom of 
my box, furnishing all the space under the box that is re- 
quired. 

It is necessary to cover the whole with a cap made to 
lit over the top of the hive, and for the successful winter- 
ing of bees, in this style of hive, see chapter on winter- 
ing. This style of hive will admit of the use of two 
sets of boxes at a time, the same as the movable comb 
hive, but cannot obtain as large results, continue the life 
of the bees, or feed to as good advantage, as in the mov- 
able comb hive. 

NQN-SWARMING HIVES. 

A perfect non-swarming hive, I think, in the same 
category as a perpetual motion, a very good thing to talk 
about, but a thing that has never been accomplished,, 
nor can it be until the nature of the bee is changed. 
Swarming is its natural instinct, and its only safeguard 
against utter extinction. If bees are put into large 
boxes, cupboards, or other unnatural structures, they 
sometimes fail to swarm ; but I have known them to 
swarm when kept in the chamber of a house, as was 
practised years ago by a few. Would it be beneficial to 
use hives that are non-swarmers? I mean perfect non- 
swarmers? I answer, no; not even in the hands of an 
experienced operator; one who would watch the age 
of the queen and not permit her to live to exceed three 
years of age ; one who could keep his stocks strong, even 
then, I think he would in time, from different causes, 
such as foul-brood, loss in wintering, &c, find that his 
apiary was gradually on the decrease. 



HIVES. 85 

A few years since, Mr. Hazen, of New York, patented 
what is known as the "farmer's hive." It was made so 
that from 2,000 to 4,000 cubic inches of boxes could be 
attached to the sides and top, but it was not effectual. In 
giving his reports of the product of his apiary, (and I 
regret that I have none at hand,) he would invariably 
report at least one-half swarming during the season, but 
those that did not swarm, gave a large yield of honey ; 
and I think, instead of using a large, cumbersome hive as 
his, often being obliged to leave many'boxes partially 
filled on the hive, for so great length of time, to have 
them completed, that the combs became colored, it 
would have been better to have used a moderate sized 
hive, and worked his bees in two sets of boxes at a time, 
as I do, and I believe that my hive comes as near to be- 
ing a non-swarmer as it is possible to make one, es- 
pecially where the box room is to govern the issuing of 
swarms. 

Mr. Quimby has made a hive wherein he has a 
large amount of box room. His manner of applying 
boxes, is to set them on the sides, adjoining the combs, 
and also on the top, directly on the frames, the same as 
I set my boxes. My hive can be made with the ends 
long enough to admit Of the boxes being put inside, 
next to the combs, and when the boxes are removed, a 
partition can be put in next to the comb. But this is 
not the method he employs to prevent his bees swarm- 
ing if they wish. He does it by placing in front of his 
hive, a queen yard, so that the queen coming out with 
the swarm, her wings having been previously clipped so 



86 farmers' guide to i;ee keeping. 

that she is unable to fly, and the yard being so arranged 
that she cannot crawl out and get lost ; on the return of 
the swarm, which will be in a short time if they have 
not their queen with them, she will again enter the hive, 
usually to come forth the following day. 

Now the better plan would be, if they are de- 
termined to swarm, to permit them to do so, and if you 
wish to curtail the increase of stocks, as much as is 
possible, put two swarms together, and work them 
strong for surplus honey. It would be much more satis- 
factory to me, than to discourage them by keeping them 
fluttering away, day after day, trying to swarm. Another 
view of this case, is this : suppose that they persist in 
their determination to swarm, for nine days, or until the 
time we might reasonably look for a second swarm, had 
the first got away on time ; or until one of the young 
queens have hatched, and she accompanies the swarm, 
what preventive had you left, only to have lifted out 
he combs before any of the young queens hatched, and 
cut off the queen cells ? Some would say, that two 
queens do not accompany the first swarm, but I have 
had such cases happen in my own apiary. 

The following figures will show how I estimate the 
value of a non-swarmer : we will start with one hive, 
worth $5.00 ; at the expiration of ten years it is worth 
no more. The chances of its failing or dying before 
that time, we will not take into the account ; we will 
get annually $15.00 worth of honey ; in ten years it will 
amount to the aggregate of $150.00, which, added to 
the value of the hive, gives a total of $155.00. Now 



HIVES. 87 

suppose we allow the hive to swarm every other year, 
the first, allow it to swarm and get $5.00 worth of sur- 
plus honey, $2.50 each from old and new ; which is a 
very low estimate. The second year, from the two 
hives, suppose we get $15.00 each in surplus honey, in 
ten years we will have increased our apiary to 32 swarms, 
and obtained $1,085.00 worth of honey, to which add 
the value of swarms, and we have the aggregate of 
$1,245.00. Now for the swarming hives; we will 
suppose that it throws off a swarm annually, and stores 
$5.00 worth of surplus honey, or $2.50 each for old 
and new, which is a low estimate, at the end of ten 
years we have 1024 hives ; these, at $5.00 each, are 
worth $5,120.00. At $2.50 each, the surplus honey 
will bring at the expiration of ten years, $5,115.00, 
which, added to the value of the swarms, gives a total 
of $10,235.00, as a result to compare with $155.00 for 
the non-swarmer, or with $1,245.00 the total of a non- 
swarmer one-half of the time. I do not wish to be 
understood that every one will realize such a profit, but 
I think and know it ca*n be done, and this statement 
tends to show the relative profit between the swarming 
and non-swarming hive. 

OBSERVATORY HIVES. 

Every bee-keeper should have one or two for exper- 
imental and observatory purposes. They are very con- 
venient to open, in exhibiting to visitors the marvelous 
works of the honey bee, when it is not desirable to 
remove the combs from the hive. They can be made 
full size to accommodate the frames used in the other 



88 FARMERS' GUIDE TO BEE KEEPING. 

hives of your apiary, with glass in the sides, and at the 
back covered by doors hung on hinges, and fastened 
with a button or hook. One can be made to receive 
only one comb" from a full swarm, with one or two 
quarts of bees clinging to it, and will exhibit all the 
phenomena of a full hive. For such a hive it should 
be but two inches wide inside, the top made movable, 
so that the frames and bees may be transferred to a full 
stock in the fall, as such a hive would be unsuitable for 
wintering bees in. 

STRAW HIVES. 

I do not'value the straw as possessing any desirable 
feature for general use in summer, and will only speak 
of it in|the chapter on~wintering, : as there is where I 
think its chief merit lies ; and it there attains a great 
superiority over any other form of hives. 



8 9 



CHAPTER V. 



THE APIARY. 



The next thing in importance, after obtaining the 
bees and hives, is the location of the apiary. Select, if 
possible, a sheltered situation, shaded somewhat by 
trees, with an eastern or southern aspect, and where 
they may be readily seen or heard from the house during 
the swarming season. In a sheltered situation, that, 
when returning from the fields laden with the nectar 
sweets, they may not be wafted beyond their home, nor 
yet fall short of it, and thus be destroyed. Shaded by 
trees, that the hot rays of the mid-day sun pour not 
directly upon them; in a quiet spot, that undisturbed by 
the tread of animals, or the jarring sound of machin- 
ery, they may ply their avocation ; and not too high 
above the ground, lest they fail of making the alighting 
board and become lost in the tall grass. A smoothly 
shaven lawn, free from weeds or grass — house of the 
toad and spider — or covered with leached ashes, which 
prevents the weeds and grass growing, and which be- 
comes hard and keeps dry, should be prepared for them, 
and they will more than repay the trouble and expense 
bestowed upon them. 

If your bees have been wintered in a dormitory, 
the location should be decided upon as early in the 
spring as possible ; because, having been sheltered from 



90 farmers' guide to bee keeping. 

the rude blasts of winter, they come out in the spring 
vigorous and ready to take the wing as soon as the warm 
rays of the sun fall upon the earth ; besides, having 
been inactive for so many months, they feel the cheer- 
ing influence and come forth to enjoy the fresh and life- 
inspiring air. As they issue from the opening of the 
hive they hesitate, rise on the wing, and instead of leav- 
in a direct line turn their heads toward their home, 
describe a small circle at first, gradually increasing it as 
they recede until a large space has been viewed and 
marked. After having made several excursions, and 
become familiar with surrounding objects, they leave in 
a direct line for the fields and return without difficulty, 
being guided apparently by the way-marks already es- 
tablished. 

They now have their location marked. All things 
being familiar they leave without taking any precaution. 
Should the hive be moved during their absence, they 
return, their home is gone, and they know not where to 
go or what to do ; if there are other hives near, they 
will, in all probability enter, only to be destroyed, 
which, were it only one bee, the loss would be slight ; 
but when we consider the hundreds returning which are 
thus lost, the aggregate would in a short time reach the 
sum total of a colony. Therefore, after having once 
opened the hive in the spring and the bees have gone 
forth, avoid changing. Do not move the hive from its 
place, or, at least, but a few inches at a time, that they 
may find it readily. 

Experience has satisfied me that stocks should 



occupy their situation for the summer as early in the 
spring as possible, at least before they have marked 
their location ; or, if they must be moved after that, let 
it be not less than one or two miles. 

Like all animals, bees require water for themselves 
and their young, therefore it is a necessity ; but large 
bodies or flowing streams should be avoided. A loca- 
tion near a large body of water is objectionable, as in 
stormy winds, or returning from the fields heavy laden 
with honey or pollen, they may fall into the water, be- 
come chilled, and unable to rise, thousands of them 
perish. My attention at one time was called to the 
matter, by my bees visiting a field of buckwheat about 
a 'half mile distant, the river making a curve, so that the 
bees in flying to the field, their course was necessarily, 
for nearly the entire distance, over the stream ; and 
thousands of them falling into the water were lost, and 
my colonies dwindled perceptibly. 

DISTANCE BETWEEN THE HIVES. 

As regards the distance between the stands, it 
should be as great as circumstances will admit. A small 
yard sometimes makes it necessary to sit them near 
together, in which case the fronts should be painted in 
different colors, light and dark alternately, that they 
may readily recognize their own dormitory. If con- 
venient, they should be placed far enough apart to en- 
able the attendant to pass between without jarring or 
even touching them, two feet being the nearest that 
they should be placed ; if less than that sufficient bees 



92 farmers' guide to bee keeping. 

will be lost, by entering other hives and being destroyed 
thereby, to pay the rent for a good sized bee-yard. 

STANDS FOR HIVES. 

Is a subject to which too much attention cannot be 
given, and which is almost entirely overlooked, even 
by those who devote most of their time to bee culture. 
It seems that the ease and convenience of these little 
industrious laborers is not considered of any conse- 
quence, some having their hives placed several feet 
above the ground, making it an unnecessary labor for the 
bees to reach it j forgetting that they return laden and 
weary, with strength barely sufficient to enable them to 
reach the hive. They alight upon the ground for rest, 
and if toward evening when cool and damp, even if there 
is no wind, the result is that they often perish ; while 
others have no projection from the entrance, and expect 
them to fly direct from the fields into the hive without 
making a pause. If such would be more observing of 
the ways of the honey-gatherers, see them on their 
homeward journey, observe how frequently they have to 
alight for rest, and see them sit, panting with fatigue, 
pity, if not profit, should move them to arrange the 
surroundings of the hive for their better accommoda- 
tion. 

The stands that I use are made as follows : Procure 
two planks, one six inches, the other ten inches in 
width and as long as the hive is wide ; fasten them to - 
gether by nailing on the ends even with the top, two 
pieces about three inches wide and one foot longer than 



APIARY, 93 

the hive. The piece ten inches wide being placed 
under the back of the hive, gives it a proper slant or 
pitch, which enables them to clean their hives more 
easily, and also causes them to build straight combs 
both in the hive and box, as the combs run from front to 
rear. Now nail two pieces of joist to the strips in 
such a position that the bottom board of the hive may- 
rest upon them. Then nail on the top of these pro- 
jecting strips a board the thickness of the bottom board, 
for the bees to alight upon. This board, extending one 
foot in front of the hive, gives the bees ample room for 
alighting, and the hive is raised sufficiently from the 
ground to avoid dampness, and at the same time not be 
affected by the wind while it allows the air to pass 
freely underneath, 

COVERS FOR HIVES. 

Here again we meet with a diversity of opinions ; 
some insisting upon building bee-houses. These are 
objectionable, because, being partly enclosed, they pre- 
vent a free circulation of air ; besides, they can front in 
but one direction, and if that is to the south, they only 
get the mid-day sun — a time when it is least needed, as 
in hot weather the combs are frequently injured by- 
being melted, while the morning and afternoon sun is 
excluded when it is essential that it should receive the 
influence of his rays ; hence, a simplicity in covers is 
to be considered, if only from an economical point of 
view. Those elaborate structures are not only expen- 
sive but inconvenient in every respect. 



94 FARMERS GUIDE TO BEE KEEPING. 

We see, in some apiaries, not only one row of 
hives, but placed above each other two and even three 
stories, and it is readily seen how very inconvenient it 
must be to reach and work the two upper tiers. 

A cover formed of two boards twelve inches wide, 
six or eight inches longer than the hive cap, one edge 
of each beveled and nailed in the form of an ordi- 
nary house roof, or the slant to correspond with that of 
the cap, and placed on loose, can be removed at pleas- 
ure, sheds rain, and protects the hive from the too hot 
rays of the noon-day sun. 

PROCURING BEES TO STOCK AN APIARV. 

It is presumed that a beginner desires to obtain a 
quantity of bees for an apiary. He has the location 
selected; has obtained, what appears to him, the best 
hive, and now it remains to procure occupants for those 
hives. He may purchase a colony that threw off a 
swarm the year before, as then he would be quite sure 
of getting a young queen ; whereas, if the stock is of 
the current year, he would very probably have an old 
one, and in one or two years discover, to his great sur- 
prise, that his swarm was gradually decreasing in num- 
bers, with a fair prospect of being utterly lost ; or, 
should there be a swarm thrown off accompanied by the 
old queen, as is usually the case, the new one would 
in a short time dwindle down to a mere handful of 
bees. 

The best method in all cases, therefore, is to pur- 
chase the best stocks, those containing a large number of 



APIARY. 95 

bees, a good supply of honey, and that these bees are 
sufficient to cover almost the entire comb. Before pur- 
chasing, be sure that there is no diseased brood occupy- 
ing the cells, and that no swarms have been lost from 
this cause. If no disease prevails in the hives, then 
old stocks are not objectionable, as, if they swarmed 
the previous season, they have the young queens, who 
are more prolific than the old ones, who always accom- 
pany the first swarms ; and as long as they remain 
healthy are as prosperous as the young swarms. 



g6 farmers' guide to bee keeping 



CHAPTER VI. 

£EE PASTURAGE, AND THE METHOD OF GATHERING 
HONEY AND POLLEN. 

To classify and enumerate all the pollen and honey- 
producing plants of our country, would, be indeed an 
endless task; but as it is highly important that each and 
every bee-keeper should thoroughly acquaint himself 
or herself, with this particular branch of apiculture, I 
will mention those which appear to afford these products 
in greatest abundance. 

Mr. Dzierzon, a prominent apiarian of Germany, 
made the discovery of using unbolted rye flour as a 
substitute for pollen early in the spring, before the 
flowers make their appearance, — even while the snow is 
yet upon the ground and the days mild and pleasant, — 
and this early feeding will promote early breeding, also 
establish habits of industry, which are essential points 
that should be observed by every practical apiarian. 
The manner of feeding this flour is in shallow dishes, 
set about in the yard. Sometimes it is necessary to put 
a few drops of honey upon the edge of the dishes to 
attract them to it. Old swarms that have a supply of 
pollen will sometimes refuse to accept it. But imagine 
for a moment how energetically a young swarm will 
work upon it that is destitute of pollen, as is often the 
case. When the flowers yield pollen in sufficient quan- 



BEE PASTURAGE AND MANNER OF COLLECTING. 97 

tities, they will no longer take the rye flour, it being 
more natural for them to forage for the dust of blos- 
soms, than to take any artificial pollen that may be pre- 
pared for them. 

Foremost among the pollen producing plants of 
any especial importance, may be mentioned the willows, 
altough the hazel and filbert furnish pollen to some ex- 
tent much earlier, being indeed, winter-blooming shrubs. 
Our swamps produce several varieties of willow that 
put forth their blooms very irregularly, many of them 
often lasting for a month. The golden willows produce 
honey in great abundance the first of the season. Fol- 
lowing these are the soft maple, gooseberries, currants, 
cherries, apricot, pear, and peach blooms ; these con- 
tribute their share of both honey and pollen. 

Sugar maple yields a large supply of delicious 
honey, and its blossoms hanging in graceful fringes 
swaying in the passing breeze, will be alive with the 
industrious gatherers of the nectar sweets. Of the fruit 
trees, none furnish so much honey as the apple. In 
good weather a gain of 25 lbs. is sometimes added to 
the hives during the time of apple blossoms, which is 
about ten days ; but we frequently have cold, rainy 
weather, at this season, and our swarms come out lighter 
at the end than they were at the beginning. I claim 
that the season of apple blossoms, and the length of 
time intervening before white clover, often decides the 
prosperity of our bees for the summer, and I would 
recommend a careful study in another place, of the 



98 farmers' guide to bee keeping. 

subject of stimulative feeding — a subject to which too 
little attention has hitherto been given. 

We now have an interval of several days between 
apple blossoms and white clover, usually from ten to 
twenty days, in which there are but few flowers. At 
this time the locust steps in with its beautiful foliage, 
and yields much honey, but not in sufficient quantities 
to supply their wants. 

WHITE CLOVER 

May be considered the basis of honey-producing 
plants. It yields large quantities of pure, white honey, 
and wherever it abounds the bee will find a rich harvest. 
In most parts of the country it seems to be the chief 
reliance of the apiary. Blossoming at a season of the 
year when the weather is usually dry and hot, and the 
bees gathering its honey after the sun has dried off 
the dew, it is ready to be sealed over almost immedi- 
ately. This clover should be much more cultivated for 
the honey it affords. 

THE RASPBERRY 

Furnishes a most delicious honey. In flavor it is 
superior to that from white clover. When it is in bloom 
the bees hold even the white clover in light esteem. 
Its drooping blossoms protect the honey from moisture, 
and enables the bees to work upon them when the 
weather is so wet that they can obtain nothing from the 
upright blossoms of the clover. For several weeks 
they are allowed to partake of this exquisite nectar, 



BEE PASTURAGE AND MANNER OF COLLECTING. 99 

as it is secreted at all hours and in every variety of 
weather. 

THE BLACKBERRY 

Also furnishes quite an amount of delicicous nectar, 
not as plentiful, however, as the different species of 
raspberries. Besides these, there are numerous shrubs 
and trees that afford large quantities of honey. Among 
the most prominent of these stands the 

BASSWOOD, OR LINDEN, 

Which puts forth its blooms about the ioth of July, 
and retains them for twelve days. Its blossoms are 
long and pendant, nearly destitute of fragrance, but 
yielding a very rich and pleasant honey, and some sea- 
sons in great abundance. It is less likely to be cut off 
by bad weather than most other blossoms. A bee- 
keeper once assured me that he had a swarm of bees 
that gathered 50 lbs. of honey in a single day from the 
basswood. I think, had he said 10 lbs., he would have 
come a little nearer the right result. This majestic 
tree, adorned so late in the season with beautiful clus- 
ters of blossoms, is well worth attention as an orna- 
mental shade tree. By adorning the yards of our 
village and country residences with a fair allowance of 
such trees as the 

TULIP AND LINDEN, 

And such others as are not only beautiful to the 
eye, but attractive to the bees, the honey resources of 



IOO FARMERS GUIDE TO BEE KEEPING. 

the country, would, in course of time, be very greatly 
increased. Next in importance is the 

TULIP OR WHITEWOOD. 

Unlike the basswood, its blossoms are bell shape, 
and usually stand somewhat inverted, so that they fre- 
quently hold several drops of pure honey. There is 
not the least doubt that if this tree were as common 
as the basswood, it would be classed at the head, for it 
is certain that it yields the greatest amount of honey of 
any tree in this country. It has been said by some 
writers that new swarms would sometimes fill their hives 
from this source alone. 



Blossoms in June, and continues to bloom until the 
frosts of autumn rob it of its verdure. The blooms 
are rich in sweetness, and like the raspberry, the bees 
visit it at all hours of the day and in nearly all kinds of 
weather. I find nothing to surpass it, and if I were 
going to cultivate any plant, especially for honey, it 
would be the catnip. Golden-rod and Erigeron produce 
a goodly amount of honey, and 

BORAGE 

Is a plant which would justify cultivation exclusively 
for bees. It blooms continuouosly from June, until cut 
off by severe frosts, and like the raspberry, is frequented 
by bees even in moist weather. The honey it produces 
Is of a very superior quality, and like the catnip, an 
icre of it would supply a number of stocks. 



.E PASTURAGE AND MANNER OF COLLECTING. IOI 
RED CLOVER 

Secrets much more honey than the white, and is of 
a delicious flavor. The first crop is seldom visited by 
the bees, although I have seen a few working upon it, 
but it appears to be slow business. We can only im- 
agine what would be the success of bee keeping, if they 
were but enabled to reach the honey that is secreted in 
those large fresh blossoms in June, it being only 
the smallest blossoms that will yield up their sweets 
to them. The second, or seed crop, is oftener visited 
by them, but not sufficiently so to constitute it one of 
the honey-producing plants. It was claimed when the 
Italian bee was first introduced into this country, and 
were only in the hands of a few persons, and those anx- 
ious to make sale of queens, that they would fill their 
hives and boxes from the seed crop of red clover ; but 
it requires a dry season to check the growth of the 
blossoms, to enable even the Italian bee to make any 
progress in honey gathering from the crop. Before red 
clover can be included in the list of bee forage plants, 
we will have to devise some method of enlarging the 
size of the bee or arresting the growth of the blossoms. 

ALSIKE CLOVER 

Is the name given to a species which originated in 
Sweden, and was imported to this country by a Mr. 
Rogers of Philadelphia. If it would prove as good on 
all kinds of soil for hay and pasturing as the red, it 
would be a very good acquisition to the success of bee- 
keeping ; but it is only adapted for loamy and heavy 



102 FARMERS GUIDE TO HEE KEEPING. 

soil, that on dry, sandy soil, not being as certain a crop 
as white clover. It roots the same as the white clover, 
and therefore endures cold, wet weather, better than 
red clover. The stalks grow as tall as the red, but the 
blossoms are but a trifle larger than the white, and affords 
an excellent pasture for the bees, while the honey ob- 
tained from it I think is not excelled by any other 
plant. It also seeds like the white, with two or three 
seeds on each capsule. I once heard a farmer say that 
it was as good as hay and corn for his sheep ; — he meant 
that there was so much seed that it often yielded seven 
or eight, and even as high as ten bushels of seed per 
acre. 

BUCKWHEAT. 

In many sections of country this plant is highly 
esteemed for the amount of honey it produces late in 
the season. I find it often convenient to remove all 
the white clover and basswood honey from the hive and 
let the bees fill them from the buckwheat for their winter 
stores. They probably fancy the flavor of it more than 
I do, as it has a very pungent taste, and is about the 
color of good molasses. Still many persons esteem it 
as highly as they would white clover ; but the luxury to 
many may be the steaming hot buckwheat cakes which 
so often adorn^the breakfast table of the rich as well as 
the poor, in the winter season. The amount of honey 
obtained from this plant is very variable and uncertain. 
Oftentimes large fields will scarcely be noticed by the 
bees, while in other seasons they will store from 15 to 



BEE PASTURAGE AND MANNER OF COLLECTING. IO3 

30 lbs., and not unfrequently is the means of bringing 
up small swarms to a condition whereby they may pass 
the winter in safety. Many of the old apiarians have 
adopted the plan of sowing a few acres of it, expressly 
for their bees, which may be a good idea ; but at the 
same time I would not recommend it to procure surplus 
honey from for the market, as the pungent taste and 
dark color would militate against its selling for any- 
thing but a low price, and it not unfrequently injures 
the sale of the nice box honey when a little is allowed 
to be put in to finish up the boxes. It is always a good 
policy to remove all the pure, white honey, as soon as 
the blossoms cease to yield, and before the buckwheat 
makes its appearence, as each kind -will command a 
higher price if kept separate than it would if mixed. 
It is a good practice to use the honey extractor and 
remove all, or nearly all of the white honey from the 
body of the hive, just before the buckwheat begins to 
yield its sweets. 

I practice this method, and generally obtain from 
30 to 50 lbs. of nice, white, strained honey, per hive, 
and unless the season for buckwheat proves a poor one, 
the bees will procure a sufficient amount of stores to 
carry them safely through the winter. At this season, 
we who reside in Michigan, are favored with the marsh 
flowers, which are always in bloom until destroyed by 
the frost. At the present time (the middle of Septem- 
ber,) they are working freely on a yellow blossom with 
which our marshes abound, and they are proving quite an 
acquisition to our bee-keeping interests. 



104 FARMERS GUIDE TO BEE KEEPING. 

HONEY-DEWS. 

The true theory of honey-dew has not yet been 
fully explained. But there are two hypotheses for its 
production J but of the reliability of them I cannot 
vouch, as, having but recently removed to Michigan 
from the State of New York where they are rarely seen. 
I have never yet seen anything that I was satisfied in 
my own mind could be called honey-dew. I have heard 
it stated, however, by good reliable men, that they had 
seen it on the low bushes and grasses in such profusion 
as that it would adhere to their garments in passing 
through it ; but such instances are not recorded in our 
bee books and journals, therefore we must conclude that 
they are not of frequent occurrence. The theory most 
frequently mentioned in the journals, is, that it is the 
excrementitious discharge of aphis or plant lice. 

About the middle of the present month (Septem- 
ber), I noticed, when passing under a willow tree, that 
the walk, fence and stones, were covered with spots of 
a wet shining substance. Upon examining the tree, I 
found that nearly all the smallest branches were cov- 
ered with a species of large aphis, apparently engaged in 
sucking the juices from the twigs, and occasionally dis- 
charging a minute drop of a transparent liquid. I did 
not discover any bees collecting it, but found great 
numbers of ants, wasps, hornets and flies, collecting it 
from the grass beneath the tree. This, I suppose, is 
what is termed a species of honey dew, although not 
deposited on the upper side of the leaves of the trees 
as stated by Mr. Worthington, in the American Bee 



BEE PASTURAGE AND MANNER OF COLLECTING. 105 

Journal. He says, " the honey is beautifully clear, and 
of good consistency." On examining the trees, he 
found the under side of the leaves covered with small, 
green aphides, about the size of a large flea, and of very 
much the same shape. The dew was evidently voided 
by the insects, there being none of it on the under side 
of the leaves, and no aphides on th£ upper side, which 
would have been the case had they been eating the dew. 
I think the cause of the dew being on the upper side of 
the leaves, is well explained by Mr. Faul, of Council 
Bluffs, in the November number of the American Bee 
Journal iox 1870, from which I copy in full. He says : 
"I have at last caught the chaps that rain down what 
is called honey-dew. In localities where the common 
willow grows, I found the most. On the Missouri river 
bottom, which is literally covered with willows, I find in 
June and July they are covered with small insects, which 
at a certain age get wings and fly off in swarms, going 
for miles. Sometimes they will stop in the air, over 
some trees, and fly around in a circle for an hour. If 
you get them between your eye and the sun, you will 
see them discharging the so-called honey-dew. They 
will stop in one place, the same as gnats or mosquitoes, 
which you have often seen about as high as a man's 
head. 

Now, if any person wants to really test the correct- 
ness of this, let him go to a willow grove and he will 
find those insects (or willow lice) just before sun-down ; 
and getting the willows between him and the sun, he 
will see them rising from every part of the tree, in small 



106 farmers' guide to bee keeping. 

squads, and collecting till they form a large swarm. 
Then they will be seen discharging continually a fluid 
which resembles a fine sprinkle of rain. I have often 
seen those same insects discharging a fluid on a limb, 
where they were hatching ; and then saw large ants, 
wasps and yellow jackets working on it. And I often 
wondered how it go£ on the very tops of the trees, 
where no insects were to be found. I think this obser- 
vation will settle the matter about the origin of 
honey-dew. 

In conversing with Mr. O. C. Perrene, the honey 
merchant of Chicago, I find that he does not esteem the 
honey made from honey-dews very highly; neither should 
I from the above theory ; but from my own views herein 
advanced, there can be no honey purer, or more beautiful. 
Sugar being one of the natural products of growing veg- 
etation, floats to a greater or less extent, in the sap of all 
trees and plants, from which honey is elaborated by the 
flowers, and is deposited by exudation in minute parti- 
cles or drops, in the bottom of the calyx, or flower cup. 
This honey, not being collected by insects, or absorbed 
by the plant, is evaporated by the noon-day sun, and 
passes into the atmosphere, filling it with infinitessimal 
particles of saccharine matter, together with the aroma of 
the flower from which it is distilled. As the shades of 
night approach, the atmosphere being free from clouds, 
to prevent radiation, the plants become much cooler than 
the surrounding air, and consequently condense upon 
their surfaces the moisture of the atmosphere, together 
with the particular substances with which it may be load- 



BEE PASTURAGE AND MANNER OF COLYECTING. I07 

ed ; and this process being carried on during the entire 
flowering season, the air becomes surcharged with sweets, 
and when condensed upon the leaves and grass, the mois- 
ture being partially evaporated, it leaves the saccharine 
matter adhering to their surfaces, and thus forms honey- 
dew. / It is true that the honey-dews are so abundant in 
many places in California, that the Indians gather large 
quantities of it by fastening bits of cloth to the end of 
poles, and passing it around among the foliage of the 
trees and shrubs upon which it is condensed, until the 
cloth becomes saturated, with the saccharine matter, then 
wringing it into a vessel. He is thus enabled to furnish 
himself with a good supply of honey, and that too, with- 
out the trouble and expense of the honey bee. 

GATHERING AND STORING HONEY. 

The worker bee is furnished with a tongue or pro- 
boscis, exceedingly curious and complicated, but my 
limited space forbids a full description of it. It is by 
means of this little organ that she obtains the honey 
from the flowers, and through it conveys it to her honey 
bag or first stomach. When distended, the stomach will 
hold about one drop, and is of the size of a common 
pea. In this sack the bee carries the honey from the 
field to the hive, and in the same pure state, that it is 
taken from the flower. The size of the sack can be 
readily seen when full, by observing a bee on a window 
glass, between you and the light, and presenting an ap- 
pearance of transparency just back of the waist. 

I have often heard it stated, and indeed many peo- 



io8 farmers' guide to bee keeping. 

pie believe that the bees make the honey. This is a 
great mistake ; they do not make it, but simply collect 
it from the flowers, or the feeding trough. There are 
also many bee keepers who believe that bees can be fed 
on sugar or molasses, and that they will convert it into 
nice white honey. This is very well in theory, but in 
practice it will be found to be sugar or molasses still, re- 
taining the flavor, but liquified with saliva or water. 
The sack or stomach is surrounded by a muscular fibre 
which enables the bee to compress it, and empty the 
contents, through the proboscis into the cell. In dis- 
charging her load, she goes to the bottom of the cell, 
deposits a particle of honey, and brushes it into the cor- 
ners and angles, with her tongue, or proboscis, carefully 
excluding all the air. As it is filled, that next the sides 
is kept in advance of the centre, making the surface of 
the honey, concave. This is just as a chemist would say 
it should be done, as they may be termed chemists as 
well as mechanics. If the cells were filled at once and 
no care taken to attach it to the sides, the external air 
would not keep it in place as it now does. The bees 
often commence filling the cells when they are not more 
than one-fourth of an inch in depth, and as they length- 
en the cell they continue to add honey, keeping it within 
one-eighth of an inch of the end of the cell. When the 
cell is full, it is allowed to remain a short time unsealed, 
for the purpose of evaporating the moisture, as it is quite 
thin when first gathered. When honey is stored in work- 
er cells, the honey seldom touches the sealing ; but when 



BEE PASTURAGE AND MANNER OF COLLECTING. IO9 

stored in drone cells, it usually touches the ceiling about 
half way up. 

THE GATHERING OF POLLEN, 

Or bee bread, is accomplished in quite a different man- 
ner. On the posterior legs of the worker, there is an ad- 
mirable provision made, for enabling it to convey to its 
. hive this most important part of its store. On the out- 
side of each limb, is a small spoon-shaped cavity, or bas - 
ket, to receive the pollen of flowers, which is the princi- 
pal ingredient composing the food of the young. Many 
inexperienced bee keepers think that the pollen is the 
material from which they manufacture the comb, but 
such is not the case, it being the principal food upon 
which the young bee is fed, previous to being closed up 
in the cell. It is just as essential that the hive should 
be well supplied with pollen, as with honey. 

The manner of collecting pollen and packing it 
into the little baskets on their legs, has been witnessed 
by but few persons. When collecting it, they alight 
upon the flowers, and passing over the stamens, detach a 
portion of the dust, which lodges upon most parts of 
their bodies, and is brushed together by their legs, and 
packed into the little baskets, while on the wing. When 
they gather flour as a substitute for pollen, from the 
feeding trough, the process is more readily seen. The 
pollen gathered from the pumpkin blooms, is not packed 
into pellets, and conveyed to the hive in the baskets, but 
theirlittle bodies are completely covered with the yellow 
dust, and they may be seen in the mornings of August or 



IIO FARMERS GUIDE TO BEE KEEPING. 

September entering their hives, in this condition. The 
cause of their not packing it at this season, I cannot 
explain, therefore will have to assume that it is a secret of 
their own, to be made clear, at some future day, by the 
researches of the naturalist. The manner of depositing 
their pollen in the cell, may often be seen in a glass 
hive. The legs holding the pellets are thrust into the cells 
and a motion like rubbing them together, is made for a 
few seconds, when they are withdrawn, and the two little 
loaves of bread may be seen at the bottom of the cell. 
This bee apparently takes no further care for it, but an- 
other, supposed to be the young one, not yet old enough 
to go to the field, will pass along, enter the cell head 
first, and pack it close. The cell is filled about two-thirds 
its length in this way, and almost invariably of the same 
colored pollen ; generally yellow, but sometimes of a 
pale green and reddish, or dark brown. 

After the cell is filled sufficiently with pollen it is 
then covered with honey, to prevent it from souring by 
coming in contact with the moisture of the hive in cold 
weather. It is then sealed over, a portion of it for winter 
or spring use, before fresh can be obtained from the fields. 
It is always a noticeable fact that they will always use the 
fresh in preference to that which has been wintered over. 
It often proves a serious detriment to a colony to have 
pollen stored in a hive, in such large quantities as to 
occupy all the cell*, as they never remove it from the 
hive to make room for the use of the queen. In the 
spring they are fed, or should be fed a little rye flour 
The old swarms who have a quantity of the pollen in 



SEE PASTURAGE AND MANNER OF COLLECTING. Ill 

store, some of it perhaps several years old, will seldom 
touch the flour, while young swarms will carry it home 
in great quantities ; but as soon as fresh pollen can be 
collected from the field, old swarms will be as assidu- 
ous in gathering it as the young ones, who are some- 
times destitute at this season of the year. 

PROPOLIS— HOW GATHERED AND ITS USES. 

As this is another article which the bees gather 
principally from the forest, and is of some account to 
them, it is proper that I should explain their manner of 
gathering it and the uses to which it is applied, as it 
will not again be referred to. This is a resinous gum 
uxuding from certain trees, and collected by the bees 
in the manner as follows : It is not, as some sup- 
pose, an elaboration like wax, although is sometimes 
used with wax more frequently in new swarms. It is 
used to cement or plaster the inside of the hive, in the 
corners and cracks, to render it air tight. It differs ma- 
terially from wax, being more tenacious when new, and 
very hard when old. It is carried into the hive in large 
quantities in the month of August, and I find it much 
more abundant in Michigan than in the State of New 
York. When the hive is well filled a covering is spread 
over the entire inside, and if the bees hang out late in 
the summer the hive is usually partially covered where 
they have clustered. It seems to be their whitewash, 
for a new layer is annually applied in a strong colony 
of a thickness proportionate to their age. Propolis is 
a natural exudation from some varieties of trees, such 



112 FARMERS GUIDE TO BEE KEEPING. 

as Balsam Fir, Balm of Gilead, Tamarac, etc. It is 
collected in small pellets on the legs, and carried to 
the hive the same as pollen, but being gummy the bees 
are unable to discharge it themselves, therefore it is 
taken off by the plasterers and applied wherever most 
needed, and many times in unnecessary quantities. 



SWAE30BS&. £ IJ 



CHAPTER m 



SWARMING. 



What season of the year will the bee fancier 'be 
more anxious to have return, than that of the swarming 
season ? I must say that, for myself, it is the most ex- 
citing season connected with bee-keeping. To the be- 
ginner, the prospect of an increase of colonies is looked 
forward to with as much anxiety as the large bee-keeper 
would to the honey harvest Although many who use 
the movable comb hire prefer the artificial multiplica- 
tion of colonies, still few would be willimg to dispense 
entirely with the pleasing excitement <sf natural swarm- 
ing. The multiplication of colonies by swarming or 
dividing is the Gnly safeguard against the possibility of 
extinction of the race, and also makes its labors in the 
highest degree useful to ssan. The laws of reproduc- 
tion, in the honey bee, are different from those of other 
insects. They being obliged to associate themselves 
together in large numbers, in order t© maintain a cer- 
tain degree of warmth, while with the wasp, hornet and 
humble bee, the males perish in the fall, and the impreg- 
nated female remains -dormant in her winter quarters 
ontil the warm days of spring restore her to life and 
activity, and ske goes forth to become the mother of a 
new colony. How admirable are the arrangements of 
■the Creator, that they may .become a source of profit to 



114 FARMERS GUIDE TO BEE KEEPING. 

man ! The bees having their hive well supplied with 
all the requisite materials, they are enabled to add thou- 
sands to their already numerous population before the 
warm rays of the sun will awaken the other species from 
their still dormant state. They can thus send off early 
colonies, and of sufficient strength to take full advan- 
tage of the honey harvest, and to provision the new 
swarm against the approach of winter. 

WHEN SWARMING CO.MMF.M ES. 

The swarming season in this latitude sometimes 
commences as early as the 15 th of May, and at other 
times as late as the 1st of July. The time, however, 
depends very much on the season ; and also the secre- 
tion of honey in the flowers. I have known instances, 
with abundance of early spring pasture, when nearly the 
whole apiary have swarmed while working on the apple 
blossoms, but such seasons are rarely known, and cannot 
be mentioned as the general rule. They usually com- 
mence to swarm about ten to 'twenty days after white 
clover comes into bloom, being governed principally by 
the abundance of spring supplies. If they have been 
abundant, so as to maintain a brisk activity in breeding, 
that the stocks may be very strong and populous, you 
may then look for swarms soon after the first appearance 
of white clover. June may properly be called the 
swarming month, here in Michigan, while in New York 
we have rarely had a swarm until July. 

STIMULATIVE FEEDING TO PRODUCE EARLY SWARMS. 

I maintain that one great secret to successful 



swAR.\!i\<;. 115 

keeping consists 111 knowing how to keep all stocks 
strong, or having them strong with brood in all stages of 
development at the commencement of the honey har- 
vest. When the harvest commences, I aim to have 
every stock completely filled with comb, brood in all 
stages, nursing bees in abundance and less than sixteen 
days old, honey gatherers over sixteen days old, and 
they are in the very best possible condition to immedi- 
ately commence storing surplus honey. The conse- 
quence is, that I will receive a profit in surplus honey 
and swarms, and therefore pronounce the season a good 
one ; while the apiarian who allows his bees to do as 
they can will often think the same season a bad one. I 
hold it to be a fixed fact, that the spring is the proper 
time to feed. Keep your bees in the best possible con- 
dition to store honey, and when the harvest comes they 
will improve every moment in storing it. The process 
of feeding is very simple, and requires but a small por- 
tion of a man's time, but he must exercise some judg- 
ment in regard to the time of doing it I usually com- 
mence as soon as the bees fly out in the spring, by giving 
them unbolted rye flour, in order that those swarms that 
require pollen may avail themselves of the opportunity 
of procuring it. I then observe the honey harvest 
closely, and days when they cannot procure honey 
either on account of bad weather, or because there is 
none distilled by the flowers, I give them at night, and 
occasionally in the morning, about one or two table 
spoonfulls of honey or white sugar dissolved in water 
and boiled to a syrup. I have frequently fed them by 



n6 farmers' guide no mm keeping. 

pouring it directly upon the combs, but would now 
recommend the use of Mr. Van Deusen's bee feeder for 
this purpose, with which you can feed them in such 
quantity as you may desire, and without the least possible 
chance of being disturbed by robber bees. It can be 
placed directly over the cluster, and so placed as to 
prevent the escape of any of the heat of the hive, 
which is much needed at this season of the year. 
The reader will understand that it is not the quantity of 
honey fed, for that might be a detriment instead of a 
benifit, but the secret lies in having a small amount of 
honey coming into the hive daily, which will stimulate 
them to breeding, so that when white clover does make 
its appearance, in any great quantities, they are ready 
in strong force, to confiscate its sweets: to. their hive in» 
'great profusion. 

WHY IiO BEES SWARM ? 

Much has been said in regard to this r by some of 
our most scientific bee keepers, but I think the majority 
of them believe that the bees swarrri from a lack of room 
on the inside of the hive, although I have been led to 
think that they were influenced to this, by instinct, to» 
prevent the extinction of their race, when I have seer* 
them swarm from a hive or barrel, when not over half 
filled with comb. But when it does occur, that they 
swarm with plenty of room in their hive, it is only when 
there is a copious yield of honey in the field, and there 
has been a premature construction of queen cells. I 
tfiink it safe to. say.> as a general rule, that bees swarm 



SWARMING. l 117 

for lack of room, or for the want of thorough ventila- 
tion inside the hive. 

SIGNS OF SWARMING. 

I know of no sign from external appearance, by 
which we may be guided, without some knowledge of 
the indications of its swarms. We often watch in vain, 
for weeks, perhaps, remaining at home and neglecting 
other important business, in the fruitless expectation 
that the "bees will swarm." The mere clustering of 
them on the outside of the hive is not to be depended 
upon, for I have often seen them cluster there all sum- 
mer, refusing to swarm. And here is where it is that 
the right kind of hive, with surplus honey boxes at- 
tached in an enticing way, should be used, that your 
swarms may not become a dead weight on your hands. 
With the hive I use, I have never seen them cluster on 
the outside in the early part of summer ; only during 
the hot sultry days of August and September. I find 
it necessary to look inside the hive for reliable indica- 
tions. With the movable comb hive it is very little 
trouble to explore for queen cells; if any are found con- 
taining eggs, or any that are sealed over, you may expect 
*a swarm, on the first fair day, generally, between the 
hours of 10 A. M. and 2 P. M. Still, I have had 
swarms come out as early as seven in the morning, and as 
late as five in the afternoon, on sultry days. But if your 
bees are in box hives, in order to make an examination, 
a little smoke should be blown under, the hive turned 
over and the bees driven back with a little more smoke, 



Tl8 FARMERS' GUIDE I'm bee keeping. 

and the queen cells examined; there is always a possi- 
bility, however, that some cells will be out of sight. 
If at or near the close of the season, we again examine, 
and find the cells destroyed, we at once conclude that 
they are done swarming. To a person who has never 
inverted a hive full to overflowing with bees, or has 
never seen it done, it appears like a great undertaking, 
but after the first trial the magnitude of the perform- 
ance is greatly diminished, and will become less with 
each operation, until there is not the least dread accom- 
panying it. 

I have found the requisites for all regular swarms to 
be, the combs crowded with bees, and they must contain 
a numerous brood, advancing from the egg to maturity, 
and the bees obtaining honey from some source. A 
surplus of bees, with a scarcity of honey is not sufficient 
to bring out a swarm, neither will a plenty of honey 
suffice, without the bees and brood. 

DELAY IN SWARMING. 

Always, before any queen cells are constructed, 
several hundred, and sometimes thousands of drones are 
reared. This may properly be said to be the first indi- 
cation of swarming. It is frequently the case that the' 
drones are reared when the bees are at work on fruit 
blossoms, and not unfrequently the strongest stocks 
commence to rear their queen cells, when the income of 
honey ceases, and the prospect of honey from white 
clover is several days hence. Famine is close at hand ; 
something must be done to save the colony. The 



SWARMING. 119 

drones are sacrificed for the good of the community ; 
even the immature drones are dragged from their cells 
and destroyed. At one time I had over one-fourth of 
my apiary kill off their drones in a single day. To me 
the sight was discouraging to behold. I was looking 
forward to an early increase of my colonies, and know- 
ing that to these swarming must be delayed from three 
to four weeks before another family of drones could be 
raised, and it is almost invariably the case that those 
swarms who have killed off their drones will not send 
out new swarms the same season. These stocks are usu- 
ally those that were the most forward in the spring, while 
colonies possessing but a moderate supply of bees and 
honey usually work on safe principles ; they cannot 
afford to rear drones, and when the scarcity between 
fruit blossoms and white clover occurs, they pass the 
crisis without any sacrifice of life, and are ready to take 
advantage of the first yield, and will throw out swarms 
long before those who were apparently far more pros- 
perous in the opening of spring. This demonstrates 
how a second-rate stock may sometimes surpass a first- 
class one in swarming, which has been quite a mystery 
to many bee keepers. Here is where Johnson comes in 
with his stimulative feeding. Ever since that spring, I 
think the year 1863, I have practiced feeding at such 
times, and on all days when they did not procure honey 
from the field. The result is, that I have not had a 
repetition of that fatal act since. 

As above stated, it is not the amount of honey fed, 
but in having a little coming into the hive daily, which 



120 FARMERS 1 GUIDE TO BEE KEEPING. 

keeps the colony steadily increasing, so that, when the 
honey season does commence, my swarms are awaiting 
it, with drones on hand, ready for swarming. 

WHICH BEES FORM THE NEW SWARM. 

That the old queen leads with the first swarm, is so 
easily proved, with the movable comb hive, that it is 
not necessary to occupy much time on the subject, 
in proof of which you have but to lift out the 
frames, to be assured that she is nowhere in the hive. 
The absence of eggs in the cells after three or four days 
is another proof of her migration with the swarm. I 
have known instances of two queens accompanying the 
first swarm, but it was in consequence of bad weather, 
preventing the issuing of the swarm on time, or not 
until after the hatching of one of the young queens ; 
and in such cases the old queen is very unwilling to 
make war against her young daughter, and she is there- 
fore permitted to accompany the mother with the first 
swarm. I have had one swarm that lived in that con- 
dition three days after being hived, and then leave, fly in 
the air for a few minutes, finally divide into two parts, 
one portion return to the hive, the other go to the 
woods. 

It is needless to say that the above occurrence took 
place in my very first days of bee keeping ; were it to 
occur now, I should know the remedy and apply it. 
The actions of the bees, for the three days that they 
remained in the hive, were something like this : They 
would cluster inside of the hive, and about every half 



SW ARMING. T2I 

hour the cluster would fall, bees run out of the hive 
in all directions for a few moments, then return, to fall 
again and again, until they come out on the third day. 
Had I known the cause, and removed one of the 
queens, I should not have been annoyed by seeing my 
bees decamp to the woods. 

There are many conflicting theories in regard to 
the workers that accompany the first swarm, but I am 
happy to say, that it is only among the old fashiond bee 
keepers. The observing bee keepers, I believe, all agree 
that they issue promiscously, old and young. That 
young bees leave, any one may be satisfied on seeing a 
swarm come out, a great many too young and weak to 
fly will drop down in front of the hive, having come out 
for the first time, perhaps not an hour out of their cells. 
They may be readily distinguished by their color. Many 
times there will not be one-fourth as many bees left in 
the hive, as there were in the spring, which shows con- 
clusively that the young bees constitute a portion of the 
swarm, and also, the every day laborers may be seen with 
the new swarm, their legs laden with pollen. 

ISSUING OF SWARMS. 

I have repeatedly witnessed, in my observing-hives, 
the whole process of swarming. On the day fixed for 
their departure, the queen is very restless, and instead of 
depositing her eggs in the cells, roams over the combs, 
and communicates her agitation to the whole colony. 
The emigrating bees usually fill themselves with honey, 
just before their departure. A short time before the 



122 FARMERS GUIDE TO BEE KEEPING. 

swarm rises, a few bees may be generally seen sporting 
in the air, with their heads turned always to the hive ; 
and they occasionally fly in and out, as though impa- 
tient for the important event to take place. At length, 
a violent agitation commences in the hive ; the bees ap- 
pear almost frantic, whirling around in circles continual- 
ly enlarging, like those made by a stone thrown into still 
water, until, at last, the whole hive is in a state of the 
greatest ferment, and the bees, rushing impetuously to 
the entrance, pour forth in one steady stream. Not a bee 
looks behind, but each pushes straight ahead, as though 
flying " for dear life," or urged on by some invisible 
power, in its headlong career. 

We often hear it said that the old queen leads the 
swarm, but it is only necessary to watch for her pres- 
ence when it will invariably be found that she does not 
come forth until the swarm is half out. The reader will 
bear in mind that we are only speaking of first swarms : 
subsequent ones, conduct themselves differently. 

The bees, when first rising from the hive, describe 
circles of but few feet, but as they recede, they spread 
over an area of several rods. Their movements are much 
slower than usual. In a few moments thousands may be 
seen revolving in every possible direction. 

When all are out of the hive, or soon after, some 
branch of a tree or bush is usually selected upon which 
to cluster. In less than half a minute after the spot is 
indicated, even when the bees are spread over an acre, 
they are gathered in the immediate vicinity, and all 
cluster in a bodv, in from five to ten minutes after leav- 



SWARMING. 123 

ing the hive. They should be hived immediately, as 
they show impatience if left long, especially in the sun ; 
also if another colony should send out a swarm while 
they were hanging there, they would be quite sure to 
unite. 

METHODS OF HIVING BEES. 

It makes but little difference how they are put into 
the hive, provided they are all made to enter. There is 
one thing essential at this time, and that is to have your 
hive in readiness. To prepare your hive after the swarm 
has issued, shows bad management ; your hives should 
be stored in some cool place, as the bees will enter one 
that is cool, much quicker than one that has stood in the 
hot sun during the day. It is a common custom among 
the old fashioned bee keepers, after the swarm is out, to 
prepare a table, covered with a white cloth upon which 
to set the hive. This is all unnecessary labor. A shorter 
and simpler method is, to place upon the ground under 
the swarm-cluster, the hive, with a large piece of board, 
laid just in front of it upon which the bees can be pour- 
ed. If they are to be hived in a box hive, one side 
should ^be raised one inch, by placing under the two 
front corners, two small blocks or sticks, to hold it up 
from the bottom board. If they are to be put into a 
movable comb hive, raise the front, if on a- movable 
bottom board, if not, open the entrance as wide as pos- 
sible. If the comb frames are not fastened in their 
places, they should be adjusted, and the surplus honey 
boxes turned down, that the bees may not enter them for 



124 FARMERS <;UIDE Tu BEE KEEPING. 

a few days ; and then all is in readiness for the swarm. 
If the swarm has clustered on a small branch or limb, it 
may be cut off, if not detrimental to the tree, and 
brought down, and the bees shaken off in- front of the 
hive ; a portion will discover it, and at once commence 
a vibratory motion of their wings, which seems to be a 
call for the others. A knowledge that a new home is 
found, appears to be communicated in this way, as it is 
continued until all have entered. A large number may 
linger about the entrance, nearly or quite closing it, and 
preventing others from going in ; you can expedite their 
progress by gently disturbing them with a small twig or 
quill. When gentle means will not induce them to en- 
ter in a reasonable time, and they appear obstinate, a 
little water sprinkled upon them, will greatly facilitate 
operations. Care must be observed, however, not to 
overdo the matter by using the water too freely, as 
they may be made so wet that they will not 
move at all. When the entrance to the hive is so small 
as to prevent the bees passing in freely, the hon- 
ey boxes may be removed, and the bees poured or shak- 
en directly upon the top of the comb frames. They 
will enter the hive very readily in this way, but they 
must all be made to go down, and the honey boxes plac- 
ed in position, and not be left until evening, as some 
would do. When they cluster on a limb that you do not 
wish to cut off, they may be shaken into a basket or 
box, and brought down to the hive. When brought 
down in this manner, it is very well to sprinkle the clus- 
ter with a pailfull of cold water ; (ice water not objec- 



SWARMING, X-25 

tionable,) which will cause them to cluster closer togeth- 
er, and scarcely one will leave the basket or box while 
being conveyed to the hive. If you succeed in getting 
nearly all the bees at the first effort, merely shaking the 
branch upon which the cluster formed will be sufficient 
to prevent the remainder from alighting, and will turn 
their attention below, where those who have already 
found a home, are loudly calling them to come. 

When they alight very high, it is often difficult to 
secure them with safety to them and ourselves, unless 
one keeps at command the necessary implements. I 
have often brought them down when they were 30 feet 
and over from the ground. I make an implement for 
the purpose in this manner. Procure a light pole from 10 
to 15 feet in length, upon the end fasten a ring or hoop 
about 12 to 15 inches in diameter. See diagram. 




Attach to the ring or hoop a bag about three feet in 
length, made of coarse burlaps, or some material that 
is not too tight to exclude the air. At the bottom of the 
bag," a short string should be attached, by which it may 
be shaken when inverted. To get the swarm into it, you 
have only to draw it gently under the branch, when the 
bees will fall into it ; as soon as they have fallen, turn 
the pole half way over, which will close the mouth of 



126 FARMERS' GUIDE 1*0 BEE KEEPING. 

the bag, and there is no possibility of escape'; the}- arc 
then hived as above directed. I have carried a swarm 
over a half a mile in this way, and find it much more- 
convenient, than to carry a hive to the swarm. If any are 
left on the branch, they can be shaken so that they will 
cluster, then treat as before, or they will return to the 
parent stock, if they do not observe the call from those 
in the hive, unless you do not succeed in getting the 
queen. Should such be the case, you may very soon 
know it, by the bees leaving the hive, and clustering 
again on the limb, when the operation will have to be 
repeated, until the queen is secured. 

Another method of hiving, and one which I can 
recommend above all others for dispatch, (and that is 
very necessary, when many swarms are kept, to prevent 
their going together,) is as follows : Procure several 
poles of different lengths, and two pieces of board \£ 
inch thick, 6*4 inches wide, and 12 inches long; 
also two pieces 7 inches wide, and 12 inches long, nail 
these together, so as to make a box 7 inches square by 
12 inches long, without ends; now bore several i'^ 
inch holes through each side of the box, and nail it 
to the small end of one of the poles, or better, fix each 
of the poles to fit the same box, so that they may be ad- 
justed without a moment's delay. It is highly necessary 
that the bee keeper should be on hand ready for busi- 
ness, as soon as the bees commence to alight, and be- 
fore a pint of bees have collected on the limb, the box 
must be adjusted to a pole that is long enough to reach 
from the ground to the branch, then plare the box im 



SWARMING. 127 

mediately under the place chosen for the cluster. The 
result will be, that almost the entire swarm will alight on 
the box, and in it, before one has time to arrange the 
hive for their occupancy. As soon as the bees have 
clustered, the box and pole can be let down, and the 
bees hived in the usual manner. To expedite the busi- 
ness as much as possible, as soon as a quart or two have 
settled on the box, they may be taken down, and put in 
the hive ; and as the call is set up, (if the cluster is not 
too high, ) the limb may be shaken with the pole, and 
the balance of the swarm may go immediately to the 
hive instead of settling on the limb. Should any bees 
be left on the limb after taking down the first box full, 
it can be violently shaken, and the box placed under it, 
when the balance will settle on the box and can be 
taken down as before. I do not claim the originality of 
the foregoing, as it was kindly furnished me by Messrs. 
Fish Bros, of N. Y., soon after I commenced bee keep- 
ing, and I have used it ever since, with decided success. 
Perhaps the greatest perplexity will be felt in hiv- 
ing bees that have clustered on the body of a tree, on 
the fence, in the grape vine, or the currant bush. I 
must say that I never experienced much trouble in hiv- 
ing them from such inconvenient places. The best 
method usually is, to place the hive, as nearly as possi- 
ble, under the cluster, or if they are down to the 
ground, so much the better ; then place the hive close to 
the swarm, and put a few of the bees into the hive, by 
dipping them with a common dipper. As soon as those 
in the hive discover their new home, they immediately 



i28 FARMERS' GUIDE TO BEE KEEPING. 

set up the call ; then dip the remainder of them in, or 
brush them, with a small twig or quill, up to the hive 
and they will enter very soon. Never use a broom or 
stiff" brush, as it only serves to irritate them, and ren- 
ders them less pleasant to handle. I feel that further in- 
structions in regard to hiving bees will be unnecessary, 
therefore will proceed to describe the subsequent man- 
agement, which is just as important, as the simple act 
of hiving. 

ALL SHOULD BE MADE TO ENTER. 

It is of the utmost importance that all should be 
made to enter the hive at once. A cluster outside may 
contain the queen, unconscious of a home, and the con- 
sequence might be, her departure for a home in the 
woods. The theory advanced by some of the old style 
bee keepers, that the queen always enters the hive first, 
is not invariably the case ; usually she is with the greater 
mass of bees, and by the use of a small twig, any small 
cluster about the hive should be brushed toward the en- 
trance until they are all in. As soon as this is done, it 
is highly important that they should be 

SET ON THE NEW STAND. 

If the bees remain long on the tree before hiving 
they send out scouts, searching for a home. If the 
swarm is hived, and set on the new stand, the scouts, 
on their return, will fly to the limb on which they were 
clustered ; not being able to find their swarm, they will 
return to the parent stock, with the few scattering bees 
left after hiving. Were the srouts to find the new 



SWARMING. I29 

swarm, as would be the case if left where they were 
hived until evening, they often entice them to flee to the 
woods. I have almost invariably found that swarms, 
which abandoned a suitable hive for the woods, were 
left to stand near the spot where they clustered, the bee 
keeper, intending to remove them in the evening or 
early next morning. 

Bees that swarm early in the day will generally be- 
gin to range the fields, very soon after they are hived, 
and if they are left where they are hived during the day, 
many hundreds will have left, in search of honey. Each 
bee, when it leaves the hive, will mark the location, and 
return to the same place. Now suppose the hive is re- 
moved to a new stand in the evening ; in the morning 
the bees that left the hive the day before, to work in the 
fields, will invariably fly out, without marking its loca- 
tion, and when it returns, will go directly to the spot the 
hive occupied the day before ; this explains why we often 
see hundreds of bees flying about where the swarm was 
hived. They are evidently lost, and will perish in their 
search for the hive ; while, if the swarm had been im- 
mediately moved to the new stand, the few remaining 
bees, even a pint or more, would return to the parent 
hive, and the following day no bees would be seen flying 
about where the swarm was hived. It will require no 
longer time to move them one time than another. It is 
useless to object, and say it will take too long to wait for 
all the bees to go in. I consider it an essential feature 
in their management, that they all be made to enter, and 
be placed on their new stands"at once. I do not say that 



13 ARMF.RS' GUIDE M BEE KEEPINO, 

my directions will always prevent their going to the 
woods, but I can say that [ never lost a swarm, 
when thus treated. One thing more is very essential in 
the treatment of new swarms just hived, and that is 

SHADE IMPORTANT. 

We often hear bee keepers complain " that they 
lose most of their bees after tHey are hived, that they 
do not like their home, and away they go." Now, kind 
reader, I shall insist that the fault lies with you in most 
cases, and not with the bees, or hive if clean. It is of 
great importance that swarms should be protected, from 
the hot rays of the sun, for several days after having 
been hived. If the heat is very oppressive, they will 
cluster on the outside, being unable to stay within, and 
attend to their work of comb building. Often the comb 
they have built will melt and drop down, thus dis- 
couraging them, until they will seek a home in the cool 
shade of the forest. Immediately upon setting the hive 
on the stand, it should be covered with a temporary roof, 
(see chapter on hives) or some pieces of boards laid on 
to shelter it for a week'or two. I would not recommend 
sitting them in the dense shade of an orchard, but would 
rather prefer sitting them in the open field, that they 
might get the rays of the morning and evening sun, en- 
abling them to work earlier and later. 

I had the pleasure of visiting the apiary of Mr. J. 
H. Townley, of Jackson Co., a few days since, and was 
much pleased with the arrangement and cleanliness of 
the apiary, whirh indicated that the proprietor was 



SWARMING. I3I 

" master of the situation." His apiary was not located 
in a dense orchard, nor in the vicinity of hen roost, pig 
sty, and the like, but out in the open field as it were, with 
here and there a young fruit tree, not yet large enough 
to be beyond his reach. I asked him if on these trees 
was where his bees clustered. He said it was, and that 
they were sufficient. Mr. Quimby in his " Mysteries of 
Bee Keeping Explained," says, that he prefers a place for 
his apiary, where there are no large trees for his bees to 
alight upon. He prefers simply the use of small bushes 
6 or 8 feet high, set in the ground in holes prepared for 
them. On the clustering of the swarm they can be lifted 
out and hived without difficulty. I only wish that I were 
located under as favorable circumstances, without being 
surrounded by large trees, as I am obliged to be while 
I am living in a city with its shade trees, and an occa- 
sional large fruit tree, which we otherwise would highly 
prize. 

LOSS OF BEES BY FLIGHT. 

I know of many bee keepers who lose one-quarter 
of their bees by flight to the woods, and in nine cases 
out of ten the fault is with the apiarian. It often hap- 
pens that a hive is to be constructed, or an old one 
cleansed and repaired, and the bees are left to hang on 
the limb. It is unnecessary for me to say that not 
one swarm in two hundred flies to the woods without 
first settling ; but should such be the case, it is not nec- 
essary to bring all the old tin pans and bells into requi- 
sition, but simply go in advance of the migratory col- 



132 FARMERS' GUIDE TO UEE KEEPING. 

ony with an ordinary mirror and persistently throw the 
sun's rays upon the head of the column. I know of 
nothing more effectual. We often read accounts in the 
bee journals of swarms being stopped by the use of the 
small pocket glass, an operation which might prove 
very profitable to a person living in the vicinity of neg- 
ligent bee keepers. 

DO THEY HAVE A PLACE SELECTED BEFORE LEAVING? 

The inquiry is often made, do swarms have a place 
selected before leaving the parent hive ? My judgment 
is, that not one in one hundred have any knowledge as 
to where they are going. I could refer the reader to 
many instances, did space permit, to substantiate my 
idea. Should a swarm leave after having been hived 
a day or two, or should they fly directly away on issu- 
ing from the parent stock, I should then anticipate that 
they had their home selected. How far they will go in 
search of a home, is also uncertain. I have known of 
their going fourteen miles, but do not think the scout- 
ing party went that distance in search of the spot, but a 
more plausible theory is, that they kept halting and 
sending out scouting parties until that great distance 
was reached. Perhaps some one will ask how I knew 
that the swarm went that distance. It was a swarm of 
Italians, and there were none kept within that distance, 
and the only person keeping Italians in that section had 
a swarm leave, and in the autumn the tree was found, 
the bees purely marked, and was evidently a swarm of 
that season. 



r 33 



A GOOD CLEAN HIVE GOOD ENOUGH. 

It is quite unnecessary to go through with all the 
maneuvers that some of the old style bee keepers prac- 
tice, even at the present day — for instance, that of 
washing the hive with a litte honey and water, sugar 
and water, salt and water, and a -\ ariety of other knick- 
knacks, or hickory leaves with salt and water rubbed on 
the inside to induce them to remain when put in. If 
the hive is clean, cool and new, I feel no hesitation in 
saying that they will like it just as well as if bedaubed 
with any of the things supposed to attract them. 

SWARMS RETURN TO PARENT STOCK. 

Occasionally a swarm will return to the parent 
hive, even after clustering. I have hived them, and 
then had them return. Usually, the cause of their 
leaving is the inability of the queen to accompany them, 
either from the effects of old age, or from the burden of 
eggs ; and sometimes it is from her wings having been 
clipped or worn off. On the return of a swarm, if the 
bee keeper will look carefully in the grass around the 
hive, he will often find the queen. I have found her 
thirty feet from the hive by tracing a line of bees follow- 
ing in her tracks. She should be carefully picked up 
and returned to the hive. It is usually quite certain 
that they will make the effort the following day, if the 
weather is pleasant ; on their second issue she may suc- 
ceed in flying with the swarm, although I have heard of 
instances of their returning six times. As they are 
leaving the hive the second time, the bee keeper should 



J 34 FARMERS GUIDE I'O BEE KEEPING. 

station himself near the hive to look for her, and if 
found, she can be put back with the swarm and hived 
as usual, or she may be confined in a cage or tumbler 
for a few minutes. Remove the old stock 20 or 30 feet, 
place the new hive on the old stand, set the queen at 
liberty in the new hive when the swarm commences 
to return, and they will soon hive themselves, when the 
new hive can be moved, and the old one returned to 
the stand. 

Usually, the hives standing near the swarming hive 
will receive some of the bees on their return. If such 
is the case, they should be covered with a cloth for a 
short time. If it is known that the cause is in conse- 
quence of the age of the queen, it is of little conse- 
quence if she is lost ; perhaps it would be better for the 
bee keeper to destroy her, and wait eight or nine days 
for the swarm which would be sure to have a good 
young queen, one likely to maintain the strength of the 
colony, and not risk the chances of losing the old 
queen when there were no eggs from which to raise an- 
other, and perhaps no drones flying to mate with a 
young one. 

TWO OR MORE SWARMS CLUSTER TOGETHER. 

If there are a number of colonies, the chances are 
that two or more will issue at the same time, and when 
they do, they will very often cluster together. The 
greater the number of colonies kept, the greater the 
chances are multiplied. For the bee keeper who has 
all the colonies lie may desire, this would be no serious 



SWARMING. . I35 

objection, if abundant room for storing surplus honey 
can be given them, as in the hives I use, large quantities 
of honey are generally obtained from such stocks, if 
they issue early, and the season is favorable. But to 
the apiarian who wishes to increase the number of his 
stocks to the utmost extent, a division should be made. 
I have always succeeded with very little trouble, by 
shaking the bees on the center of a sheet spread on the 
ground ; sprinkle them with a little cold water, set your 
hives on the sheet corresponding in number with the 
number of colonies that have united; direct a few bees 
to the entrance of each hive, and have ready some tum- 
blers ; a sharp lookout for the queens must be kept. If 
three colonies are united, two of the queens should be 
found and covered with the tumblers; if the third is 
not found, you will know in a few minutes which hives 
have no queen, and one of those caged can be given 
them. 

Some attention should be given to the amount of bees 
going into each hive ; if more are going into one of the 
hives than into another, it should be moved back a little, so 
that the bees may be divided as equally as possible. One 
first swarm, if of the usual size, will contain bees enough 
to form a good strong stock, and usually yield some sur- 
plus honey. The old adage is true, that "an ounce of 
prevention is better than a pound of cure," we can if 
we are watchful, often prevent the issuing of more than 
one swarm at a time. If they have been kept back by 
bad weather, for a few days, as soon as the sun shines 
forth in the middle of the day, manv that are readv will 



136 FARMERS (IUIDE TO BEE KEEPING. 

then issue. Raise the cover to the hive, and if the bees 
are all quiet in the glass boxes as usual, no swarm need 
be expected immediately, but should you discover the 
bees running to and fro in the boxes, although quiet at 
the entrance, you should lose no time in sprinkling 
those outside with water. They will instantly enter the 
hive to avoid the shower. In half an hour they will 
be ready to start again, during which time the others 
may be secured ; when, however, a portion of them are 
already on the wing, it is useless to attempt to arrest 
their flight. 

AFTER-SWARMS OR CASTS. 

This name has been given to all swarms that issue 
after the first. They seriously reduce the strength of 
the parent stock, since by the time they issue nearly all 
of the brood left by the old queen has hatched, and no 
more eggs can be deposited until all swarming is over. 
Then there will be but few bees left to sustain the requi- 
site warmth to protect the eggs deposited by the young 
queen from chill ; hence, she cannot replenish the hive 
sufficiently to protect it against the ravages of the mil- 
ler moth, therefore I consider it important to allow but 
one swarm in a season. 

It has already been stated that, if the weather is 
favorable, the old queen usually leaves near the time 
that the young queens are sealed over to be changed 
into nymphs. In about a week, one of them hatches ; 
and the question must be decided whether or not any 
more colonies shall be formed that season. If the hive 



SWARMING. 137 

is well filled with bees, and the season is in all respects 
promising, it is generally decided in the affirmative, 
although, under such circnmstances, some very strong 
colonies refuse to swarm more than once ; while the 
repeated swarming of weaker ones often ruins both the 
parent stock and its after-swarms. 

If the bees decide to swarm but once, the first 
hatched queen, being allowed to have her own way, 
rushes immediately to the cells of her sisters, and stings 
them to death. The other bees probably aid her in this 
murderous transaction ; they certainly tear open the 
cradles of the slaughtered innocents and remove them 
from the cells. Their dead bodies may often be found 
on the ground in front of the hive. 

If the bees of the parent stock decide to send out 
a second colony, the first hatched queen is prevented 
from killing the others. A strong guard is kept over 
their cells, and as often as she approaches them with 
murderous intent, she is bitten, or given to understand, 
by other most uncourtier-like demonstrations, that even 
a queen cannot, in all things, do just as she pleases. 

Like some human beings who can not have their 
own way, she is highly offended when thus repulsed, 
and utters, in a quick succession of notes, a shrill, 
angry sound, not unlike the rapid utterance of the 
words, " peep, peep." If held in the closed hand she 
will make a similar noise. To this angry note one or 
more of the unhatched queens will respond, in a some- 
what hoarser key, just as a cock, by crowing, bids defi- 
ance to his rivals. These sounds, so entirely unlike the 



138 farmers' guide to bee keeping. 

natural steady hum of the bees, or the fluttering noises 
of unhatched queens, are almost infallible indications 
that a second swarrn will soon issue. They are occa- 
sionally so loud as to be heard at some distance from 
the hive. About a week after first-swarming, the api- 
arian should place his ear against the hive in the morn- 
ing or evening, when the bees are still, and if the 
queens are "piping," he will readily recognize their 
peculiar sounds. The young queens are all mature, at 
the latest, in sixteen days from the departure of the 
first swarm, even if it left as soon as the royal cells were 
begun. If, during this period, these notes are not 
heard, it is an infallible indication that the first hatched 
queen has no rivals ; and that swarming, in that stock, 
is over for the season. 

Young queens, whose ovaries are not burdened 
with eggs, are much quicker on the wing than old ones, 
and frequently fly much farther from the parent-stock 
before they alight. After the departure of the second 
swarm, the oldest remaining queen leaves her cell, and 
if another swarm is to come forth, " piping" will still be 
heard ; and so before the issue of each swarm after the 
first. It will sometimes be heard for a short time after 
the issue of the second swarm, even when the bees do 
not intend to swarm again. The third swarm usually 
leaves the hive on the third day after the second swarm. 
I once had five swarms from one stock, in less than two 
weeks. In warm latitudes, more than twice this num- 
ber of swarms have been known to issue, in one season , 
from a single stock. 



SWARMING. 139 

The second swarm usually issues on the second or 
third day after "piping" is heard, though they sometimes 
delay coming out until the fifth day in consequence of 
an unfavorable state of the weather. Occasionally, the 
weather is so extremely unfavorable that the bees permit 
the oldest queen to kill the others, and refuse to swarm 
again. This is a rare occurrence, as young queens are 
not so particular about the weather as old ones, and 
sometimes venture out, not merely when it is cloudy, 
but when rain is falling. On this account, if a very 
close watch is not kept, they are often lost. As "piping" 
ordinarily commences about a week after first swarming, 
the second swarm usually issues nine days after the first, 
although it has been known to issue as early as the third 
and as late as the seventeenth ; but such cases are very 
rare. 

It frequently happens in the agitation of swarming, 
that the usual guard over the queen cells is withdrawn, 
and several are hatched at the same time, and accom- 
pany the swarm ; in which case the bees often alight 
in two or more separate clusters. I have known five 
queens to issue with one of th§ after-swarms. When 
they alight in separate places, they should be hived to- 
gether, and those who use the old box hive, I would rec- 
ommend that they always hive two or more of the after- 
swarms together, that the stocks they have may be kept 
full and strong. 

HOW TO UNITE. 

I have said that first swarms have bees enough, but 



140 FARMERS GUIDE TO BEE KEEPING. 

second swarms are usually only one-half as large as the 
first, and the third only half as large as the second ; 
thus it will require two of the second swarms to make 
one as large as the first, or four of the third. Whenever 
these swarms issue at the same time, they may be hived 
together, or if you have one hived, on the issue of an- 
other, they may be put into the same hive ; they will go 
together the same day, and the day following, without 
any trouble, but after that it will be necessary to treat 
them differently. Those that come out on the second 
and third day after hiving the first, should be hived in 
a temporary box until evening, when they "should be 
scented with a little oil of anise or peppermint, also the 
swarm with which you wish to unite them, and just be- 
fore dark they may be poured out of the box, before the 
one already hived. In the morning you will find the 
surplus queens on the bottom board, the bees having de- 
cided which one to retain, and destroyed the others. It 
is unsafe to attempt to introduce them after three days. 
These instructions are for the box hive ; but a different 
method may be used, for the movable comb hive, if it 
is desired. Each after-swarm can be hived separately, but 
I would recommend hiving only the second swarms, re- 
moving the queens from third swarms, and return them 
to the parent-stocks. Those that are hived, if light, can 
be strengthened by removing an empty frame and ex- 
changing fora frame from a good] strong colony, one that 
is well filled with brood and honey, always taking the 
precaution to brush off the bees, and by this means they 
can be brought up to the same strength of the other colo- 



SWARMING. 141 

nies. Such colonies are usually the best ones we have for 
the next season, because their queen is young and prolific. 

HOW TO PREVENT AFTER-SWARMS. 

Too frequent swarming is often detrimental to the 
profits of the apiary. If the bee keeper does not wish 
after-swarms, they can be prevented by the use of the 
movable comb hive, but with the box hive, I know of 
no means by which they can be prevented, so as to make 
success certain. 

(About six days after the first swarm comes out, the 
parent-stock may be opened, and all the queen-cells re- 
moved, except one. If done earlier than this, the bees 
may start others, in the place of those removed. Those 
only who have thoroughly tried both plans, can appreci- 
ate how much better this is, than to attempt to return 
the after-swarms to the parent-hive.) 

I will here give my method of preventing after- 
swarms, and it is accomplished without trouble. With 
the hive I use, and the manner I use it, it is needless to 
look for but one swarm from a stock in a year. My way- 
is to put the surplus boxes on, early in the season, about 
the time that white clover first makes its appearance. 
The result is, that each stock invariably fill their boxes 
about one-half or two-thirds full of honey, before the is- 
suing of the first swarm. But, some will say that I de- 
lay swarming, by putting on boxes; such is not the case. 
I know of no one, who has earlier swarms than myself. 
I will not say that putting on boxes before they swarm, 
does not delay swarming ; it does, unless they are 



I4~' FARMERS GUIDE TO BEE KEEPING. 

brought up to a high standard by stimulative feeding, 
previous to the appearance of white clover ; if they arc, 
they will prepare themselves for swarming, and issue just 
as soon as one that has not been fed, and I will be the gain- 
er of 20 or 30 lbs. of surplus honey. Now the question will 
often be asked, if my parent-stocks are strong, why they 
do not cast after-swarms? The reason is simply this : 
as has been stated, when the first swarm issues, every cell 
in the parent hive is filled with brood, except those that 
are occupied with honey and bee bread. Now this 
brood when it hatches as what the after-swarms are prin- 
cipally composed of, the old bees nearly all having gone 
with the first swarm ; when the young bees hatch, and 
view the inside of the hive, they find plenty of labor to 
do, in finishing up the surplus boxes, and I feel safe in 
saying in nineteen times out of twenty, that I will have 
no after-swarms ; but if there had been no honey depos- 
ited in the boxes, or in other words, that work had not 
been commenced in them, then I should almost as soon 
expect the issue of after-swarms, as though there were no 
boxes on the hive. But when it occurs that a first swarm 
does issue without storing honey in the boxes, I have 
only to give them one or two boxes from other swarms 
that are partly filled, when my ends are attained. 

THE QUEENS. 

It will be remembered, that both the parent-stock 
from which the swarm issues, and all the colonies, except 
the first, have a young queen. These queens never leave 
the hive for impregnation, until they are established as 



SWARMING I43 

heads of independent families. They generally go out 
for this purpose, early in the afternoon of the first pleas- 
ant day, after being thus acknowledged, at which time, 
the drones are flying most numerously. On leaving their 
hive, they fly with their heads turned towards it, often 
entering and departing several times, before they finally 
soar into the air. Such precautions on the part of a 
young queen are highly necessary, that she may not, on 
her return, lose her life, by attempting, through mistake, 
to enter a strange hive. More queens are thus lost than 
in any other way. 

When a young queen leaves for impregnation, the 
bees, on 'missing her, are often filled with such alarm 
that they rush from the hive, as if intending to swarm. 
Their agitation is soon quieted, if she returns in safety. 

The drone perishes in the act of impregnating the 
queen. 

The queen usually begins laying about two days 
after impregnation, and for the first season, lays almost 
entirely the eg^s of workers ; no males being in colo- 
nies which will throw no swarm until another season. 
She is seldom treated with much attention by the bees 
until after she has begun to replenish the cells with eggs; 
although if previously deprived of her, they show, by 
their despair, that they fully appreciated her importance 
to their welfare. 

A first swarm will sometimes swarm again, about a 
month after it is hived ; but in northern climates this is 
a rare occurrence. 

Intelligent Apiarians will see, from these remarks, 



144 farmers' guide TO BEE KEEPING. 

that with movable-comb hives, natural swarming can be 
carried on with greater certainty than ever before, many 
of the perplexing discouragements under which they 
have hitherto prosecuted it, being effectually remedied. 

I have endeavored, even at the risk of being thought 
too minute, to give such directions as will qualify the 
novice to hive and manage a swarm of bees, under almost 
any circumstances, knowing that however necessary, suit- 
able information is seldom found even in the best treat- 
ises on bee keeping. Vague or incomplete directions fail, 
at the very moment that the inexperienced attempt te 
put them into practice. 

Natural swarming may, unquestionably, be made 
highly profitable; and as it is the most obvious way of 
multiplying colonies, and requires the least knowledge or 
skill, it will undoubtedly be the favorite method with 
most bee keepers, for many years, at least. 

I will give a few theories in regard to artificial 
swarming, and leave the reader to decide for himself, 
which course he will pursue. 



ARTIFICIAL SWARMING. 1 45 



CHAPTER VIII. 

ARTIFICIAL SWARMING. 

Artificial swarms are those that are made by driving 
or dividing. It is quite a common practice with some 
of our leading bee keepers, but should not be resorted 
to, unless the season and size of swarm will warrant it. 
There are advantages, as well as disadvantages, attend- 
ing it. The amount of labor required in making arti- 
ficial swarms, is about the same as in hiving natural ones. 
If the bee-keeper were sure of one issue, and but one, 
from a hive, and could attend to them without particular 
inconvenience, natural swarms would be much preferred, 
if they would work as well ; but the complaint is often 
made that they do not work as well. Now, I would ask 
if any person ever saw a swarm of bees that showed any 
desire to be swarmed artificially? I think that every 
bee keeper would answer positively, " no 1 " but on the 
contrary, did any one ever see a colony that manifested 
2. desire to swarm naturally? this, would surely be 
answered in the affirmative. They will ever act in ac- 
cordance with the instincts of their nature, which is] to 
leave the old hive, and establish for themselves a new 
home ; they go forth with this intension, rarely~Yeturn- 
ing to the parent-stock, but enter the hollow body of a 
tree, when nothing better presents. And what arrange- 
ments have they left at home? Surely they have left the 

7 



146 farmers' ouipe to be* keeping. 

combs full of brood in all stages; they have \e*\ the 
means of raising another queen, to take the place of the 
old one, and they have left abundant stores for the 
young bees to live upon until they are able to go to the 
field. Now suppose you divide this swarm of bees in- 
to two equal parts, with an equal number of bees in each, 
they have each to fill the one-half of*their hives that 
are supplied with empty frames, and it is known by all 
apiarians, that bees in large bodies will buil.l comb 
faster, and gather more honey than when in small 
bodies. 

For artificial swarming as it is generally practiced, 
the swarming season is the best time, as then the stocks 
are constructing queen cells, preparatory to migrating, 
and if my method is strictly followed, there can hardly 
be a failure. With jhe box hive, 1 would not advise di- 
viding until preparations are made for swarming, as it is 
essential that the old stock be given a laying queen, or 
a cell just ready to hatch, If they have made no prepara- 
tions for swarming, and have bees plenty, and it is the 
desire of the bee keeper to increase his stocks, I would , 
in all such cases, recommend that you procure a laying 
queen, or a cell. It is very plain that a fertile queen, or 
a queen from a finished cell, must be ready to deposit 
eggs several days sooner, than one that is raised in the 
hive, after the necessity for one exists. There is stilt 
another advantage: the sooner a young queen can take 
the place of the old one in her maternal duties, the less 
time will be lost in breeding, the more bees there will 



ARTIFICIAL SWARMING. 1 47 

be to defend the combs against the miller moth, and the 
sooner the guarantee for surplus honey. 

HOW TO MAKE ARTIFICIAL SWARMS WITH BOX HIVES. 

In dividing bees that are in the box hive, I would 
not recommend putting the new swarm made into an 
old box hive, but rather procure a good movable comb 
hive, that would not cost but two or three dollars, and 
make your start in the world on good sound principles* 
When you are ready, take a stock that can spare a swarm, 
and at such time when there is plenty of honey in the 
field. If the bees are on the outside, raise the hive on 
one edge, setting it on a little block ; sprinkle them with 
a little cold water, blow some tobacco smoke among 
them, and disturb with a small twig until they all enter. 
They should then be smoked a little again, and gently 
removed a rod or two from the stand and inverted; have 
ready a hiving-box, or another hive of the same size to 
set over them. It will be necessary to wrap a sheet 
around the hive, where the two are joined, so that no 
crack or creyice be kft, through which the bees may 
crawL Now place an old hive on the old standi as near 
like the one removed as possible, for a decoy hive, that 
the bees returning from the field will not enter the neigh- 
boring hives, but stay around this decoy for a few 
minutes. All things being in readiness, with a couple 
of small sticks, not more than one inch im diameter, pro- 
ceed to beat the sides of the old hive for a minute, and 
then rest for about five minutes. This is very necessary, 
as it will allow the bees to fill themselves with honey, as 



14$ FARMERS' GUIDE i'u BEE REEFING. 

all regular first swarms go forth thus laden. The amount 
of honey carried out of a hive by a good swarm, to- 
gether with the weight of the bees, (which is not much) 
is from six to ten pounds. When the bees have filled 
their sacks with honey, proceed to drive them into the 
upper hive by striking the lower one rapidly from five to 
ten minutes, a loud humming will mark their movement 
upward. The upper hive may be lifted off, and ex- 
amined without fear of being stung, and if you have a 
good swarm in it, it may be set aside for a few minutes, 
and return the old hive to the old stand to allow the 
bees that are in, and around the decoy hive, to return to 
the old stock. The bees that have returned from the 
field, and have lost the old hive while in the drumming 
process, if allowed to go back into the old hive, will 
seldom desert it again. When all are in, remove the 
old hive to a new stand two rods or more from the old 
one, and set the new bees on the old stand. A kw 
minutes will decide whether you have the queen with the 
swarm, as they will remain quiet if she is present, but 
if she is not they will be uneasy and run about in search 
of her ; when it will be necessary to drive them again. 
As soon as it is ascertained that the queen is present, 
the bees may be changed from the driving box, if wished 
into another hive, simply as is done in hiving a natural 
swarm. The work is now completed, if the queen is 
present with the new swarm, except to look at the con- 
dition of the queen cells in the old hive. If none are 
near completion, one should be removed from another 
*tock and inserted into the hive just driven, by cutting 



ARTIFICIAL SWARMING. 149 

out a piece of comb large enough to receive the cell 
with some comb attached so as to guard against any- 
bruising of the cell ; or what would be better, to intro- 
duce a laying queen. Should the night or day be cool 
after the swarm is driven, it would be necessary to cover 
the old stock with a blanket, or remove it to a dark room 
to prevent the brood from being chilled, by the loss of 
so many bees. Another method, and one which I much 
prefer to this, is to make ■ 

ONE SWARM FROM TWO. 

The proceedings are the same as far as driving is 
concerned. After the swarm has been driven into the 
new hive, set it directly on the old stand ; then remove 
another hive a rod or two away from its own stand, and 
place it on a new stand. The old swarm that has just been 
driven may be set on the old stand of the one just re- 
moved to the new stand, and all is done if you have se- 
cured the queen in the new hive. Here some caution 
should be exercised in swarming in this manner, and 
only attempt it when the bees are gathering honey. As 
the bees from the hive that is moved to the new stand will 
return to their old stand, and there find the old hive just 
driven, the bees being strangers, will not receive the new 
comers to their home, unless they are loaded with hon- 
ey. The old hive will not show signs of losing any of 
their bees, but. the hive that is removed to the new stand 
will be very much reduced ; when in fact, this is the hive 
that has been swarmed, and will not be in condition to 
pass through the same process again for several days. 



150 FARMERS GUIDE TO BEE KEEMNG. 

The old hive, having only lost their queen, and as soon 
as she has cells finished, she may again be used, but only 
to be the one moved to a new stand. It could not be 
driven because it has no queen. 

Artificial swarming from the old box hive, I think 
could be of no profit to the apiarian only in treating 
stocks that refuse the entire summer to swarm, I would 
gi\e them sufficient time to swarm naturally, and did 
they decline 'to do so, I would force them ; but I would 
put them into the movable comb hive, where I could ar- 
tificially swarm them with ease, or build them up from 
other strong stocks. 

MADE EASY WITH MOVABLE COMB HIVE. 

The drumming process does not have to be resorted 
to, with these hives. There are several different ways by 
which it may be done, but I will mention only a few 
cases, which are the best and safest to adopt. To divide 
a swarm, you have but to procure an empty hive, of the 
size of the one you desire to divide. Place your stands 
by moving the old one a little to the right or left, and 
place the new one at the side of it, so that both will oc- 
cupy the old position. Blow a little smoke among them, 
and carefully loosen all the frames before lifting any of 
them out, as the bees resent a slight jar, during this op- 
eration, more than the removal of the frames. They 
will need a little more smoke during the operation to 
keep them quiet. Take out just half of the frames, 
with bees, and put in the new hive. By this 
method of dividing, it is necessary that the queen 



AKTIFlCXAt SWAJOUNG. 151 

should be found and all of the queen cells, if any 
are commenced, should be cut off, and also the 
cells should be removed from the part that has no 
queen, and a laying queen should be caged, and placed 
between the combs for a day or two, or until the bees 
will receive and accept her as mother of the colony. 
The hive should then be filled with empty frames, and 
you may consider your labors done except to divide the 
bees. More may go to one hive than to the other, in 
which case the one receiving the most, should be moved 
a little away from the other, until they are equal. If a 
laying queen is not given to the portion that has no 
queen, the bees will only build drone comb, which would 
prove very detrimental to the value of the swarm, and 
also, if there are queen cells that are not removed from 
each portion, they will often swarm ; the dividing seem- 
ing not to deter their preparations. I would not recom- 
mend the foregoing plan, unless to be practiced by a 
thorough bee keeper. 

AN EASY METHOD. 

The question now arises, how shall we accomplish it, 
and have the two hives in the same condition, as when 
they swarm naturally ? Let us look into the inside of the 
parent stock after it has swarmed. It will be seen that it 
has but few bees, and no queen. It is, however, full of 
combs filled with young bees in every stage of develop- 
ment, from the larvae to the full-grown bee issuing from 
the cell, and young queens which will be matured in 
about nine days. Such then is the condition of the pa- 



152 FARMERS GUIDE TO BEE KBKPING. 

rent stock, after a first swarm has issued in the natural 
way. The first swarm after being hived is in the follow- 
ing condition : An empty hive, neither combs or honey, 
but a laying queen, and a large number of bees. Now, 
how shall we divide a colony so as to secure the same 
conditions to both stocks? If we could do this, and 
make our swarms a few days earlier than if left to them- 
selves, and save the trouble of watching for them to come 
off, and the loss of bees going to the woods, it would cer- 
tainly be very desirable. I will give my method, and 
the reader may see how near I keep to nature ; and I 
will then show, that I am far from nature, and would be, 
were I to divide my swarm only one hour before they 
would have swarmed naturally. I cannot sort out the old 
bees, and young ; and leave some at home in the parent 
stock, and remove others to the swarm, as they would do 
in swarming naturally; neither can I give them the ener- 
gy and determination which they exhibit when left to 
themselves ; but this method is the nearest I am able to 
get to nature. 

I wait until I see some signs of swarming, or near to 
swarming time, generally to about the time queen cells 
are being started. I then go to the hive I wish to divide 
and search for the queen by looking over each card of 
comb carefully. As soon as I discover her, I put the 
card of comb on which I find her in a new empty hive 
from which I have removed one frame. I then put the 
frame in the old stock, in place of the card of comb I 
removed. I now remove the old stock away some dis- 
tance to one side, putting it on a new stand ; and set the 



ARTIFICIAL SWARMING. 153 

new hive, in which I put the queen, on the stand where 
the old hive stood. The result is, the bees will rush out 
of the old hive, return in large numbers to the old stand 
and enter the new hive, where they find their queen, but 
an empty hive. 

It will now be seen that the old stock or hive will 
lose a large proportion of bees and the old queen, the 
same as in the case of a first swarm going off naturally ; 
but it will contain all the combs, honey, and young bees, 
save what are contained on the one card removed. If 
queen cells were not already started, they will at once 
start them, and a queen will be matured in ten or twelve 
days, only a day or two longer than when a swarm issues 
naturally. The swarm in the new hive will be in just the 
same condition as a first swarm would, except that they 
have a card of comb instead of an entirely empty hive, 
and the next day even this card of comb may be remov- 
ed, first shaking off all the bees and the queen, and re- 
placed in the old hive again, leaving the swarm to build 
all new combs, as in natural swarming. 

It will be seen at a glance that nothing can be 
nearer nature than the plan I give. "But," says 
some one, " it is difficult for me to find the queen, and 
I would like some method that I could practice, without 
searching for the queen." Here it is, then : 

DIVIDING WITHOUT FINDING QUEEN. 

When you wish to make a swarm, first remove the 
stock you intend to divide a short distance away, 
and set an empty hive on the stand where the stock 



154 FARMERS' GUIDE TO BEE KEEPING. 

stood. Now remove each card, carefully shaking off or 
winging off all the bees back into the hive, and place 
the card in the empty hive. By the time you have placed 
them all in, there will be bees enough return to nour- 
ish the brood. Having put frames into the old hive 
from which you have just removed the cards of comb, 
place it again on its stand, removing the new hive into 
which you have put the cards of comb to a new stand. 
It will now be seen that the queen and a large portion of 
the bees will be on the old stand, in the old hive now 
filled with emptv frames, and like a first swarm will go 
to work and fill the hive with new combs. Care must 
always be taken that the hive containing the combs has 
bees enough to nourish the brood. 

I would here remark that whatever method is prac- 
ticed, it is absolutely necessary that the old queen be in 
the empty hive, as bees always build drone comb when 
they have no queen ; and every method that does not re- 
cognize this fact should be rejected. 

NEW WAY OF MULTIPLYING. 

Mr. Mitchell, editor of the Illustrated Bee Journal, 
has advanced a theory for the multiplication of stocks, 
which, I think, would be preferable to any mode that 
has been hitherto introduced to apiarian science. A 
skillful bee keeper can, by careful attention during the 
honey season, increase his stocks very rapidly, and to 
almost any extent. If it is desired to work his 
bees for surplus honey during the early part of the sea- 
son on white clover, and basswood, he may do so, and 



\kilHt iai SWARMING, 155 

permit them to swarm naturally, and immediately after 
the principal sources of honey are gone, he may increase 
* ks to the desired extent on buckwheat and other 
flowering plants, which usually yield honey sufficient. 
By (are ful attention to beep the sto< ks and by so doing 
evade the buckwheat honey in the Mirplus honey boxes ; 
and thus have the choke* crop of honey in surplus 
boxes, and leave the buckwheat to build up the colonies, 
and for their winter's store. It is easily done, and is 
pra< th able, so much so that the inexperienced could 
perform it, without danger of loss. To practice it suc- 
cessfully, it will be very necessary that a supply of 
queens should be ready, that one can be introduced to 
every new colony made. We will suppose that we are 
using the movable comb hive with eight frames, although 
any number of frames can be used, his theory is substan- 
tially this, to illustrate which we will suppose that we 
have seven colonies of bees, all in good condition, full 
of honey and bees. We will proceed to procure an 
empty hive, set it down near the seven old hives, open 
up the first hive, removing one comb with what bees may 
be upon it. Be careful not to get the old queen out of the 
hive, set that frame in the new hive, put an empty frame in 
the old hive, close up ; then open the second and remove 
one frame as before, setting up in the new hive, and in that 
way open all the hives, taking one frame from each hive 
containing brood, honey and bees. You will now have 
eight colonies. We will now, for instance, imagine the 
bees taken from seven different colonies. They would 
commence a war of extermination upon each other, re- 



T56 FARMERS' GUIDE TO JiEE KEEPING. 

suiting in destruction to everything, and despair to the 
bee owner. On the contrary all is peace and harmony ; 
all the bees find themselves surrounded by strangers, and 
in place of seeing that commotion there which you would 
naturally expect, they will be unusually quiet ; for at least 
twenty-four hours scarcely a bee showing itself at the en- 
trance ; they seem to be determined and decided whaf is 
best to be done. It may be that they are preparing for 
future operations. You may set them wherever you wish, 
and but few will ever return to the old colony. You will 
be safe to let a queen bee go among them, whether she 
be fertile or otherwise. The bees will receive her with 
all the courtliness and deference her majesty demands. 

The above directions should be followed strictly, 
taking care to keep the bees strong at all times, and di- 
viding as fast as filled up. In that way the careful apiar- 
ist may increase his stocks to almost any number in one 
season, and have each hive full of both bees and honey. 
Here let me caution the bee keeper wanting to make ar- 
tificial swarms to be sure to take a frame from each hive 
containing both brood and honey. It is a well known 
fact that bees scarcely ever forsake their brood. 

Here permit me to remark that through the best 
portion of the honey season, swarms can be made every 
other day, using the new stocks, as well as the old ones, 
they having established themselves as an independent 
colony, and will soon have their empty frames filled with 
brood and honey. 



LOSS OF QUEEN, 157 



CHAPTER IX. 

LOSS OF QUEEN. 

To detect the loss of the queen bee is a point in api- 
arian science which every bee keeper shoirid thoroughly 
understand. She sometimes dies of old age, or disease, 
when there is no brood in the cells to supply her loss ; 
but such cases are rare ; for either, the bees build royal 
cells, aware of her approaching end, or she dies so sud- 
denly as to leave young brood from which they can rear 
another one. Even were there brood, and no drones for 
the impregnation of the young queen, the result to the 
colony would be just as disastrous; nothing but utter an- 
nihilation for their destiny. Queens are not only much 
longer lived than the workers, but are usually the last to 
perish in any fatal casualty. She rarely dies of old age, 
unless during the season when her strength is severely 
taxed in breeding, and then drones are usually present 
to impregnate their successors. Some writers assert that 
the workers prepare royal cells when the old queen be- 
gins to loose her vitality, previous to superannuation, be- 
lieving that the workers destroy the old one, and rear a 
new one in her place. I have no doubts to express on 
the subject, never having had a case come to my notice. 
I can only hope that it may prove true. But if such 
were the case, I can not but think that the workers are 
very much demoralized in colonies that are living with 



1$8 PAKMERS' GtJIDE TO BEE KEEPING. 

un impregnated queens, or perhaps fertile workers, when 
they will not destroy such; to receive a fertile queen, or 
the means of rearing one, when such overtures are made 
to them. 

More queens perish whose loss cannot be supplied 
by the bees, when they leave the hive to meet the drones 
than in any other way. After the departure of the first 
swarm, the mother stock, and all the after-swarms, have 
young queens who must leave the hive for impregnation. 
They often become a prey to the birds, or by a sudden 
dash of wind are blown against some hard substance, or 
they may fall into water and perish. They are not ex- 
empt from the mishaps common to the humblest of their 
race. Notwithstanding their caution in marking the po- 
sition and appearances of their home on leaving, they 
not unfrequently, on their return, by mistake, enter the 
wrong hive, and are destroyed. This is one very urgent 
reason why hives should not be placed too close together, 
when of one uniform color; they should be painted in 
different colors, or set in different positions, that they 
may be more easily recognized, and thus save many mis- 
haps to the beginner. Rev. L. L. Langstroth acknowl- 
edges that he once made a great mistake in arranging 
several hives in a row close together, all alike, and of the 
same size and shape. He soon found that nearly all of 
his hives became queenless ; he gave them other queens, 
but it was of no avail, they were unable to mark their lo- 
cation. Had he not been a practical bee keeper, he 
would have attributed his loss, if the bees had died, to 
the moth worm, or some other enemv of the bees. If 



LOSS OF QUEEN, 159- 

the bee keeper, from limited space, or other reason, has 
to set his colonies close together, it would be well to 
paint the fronts of his hives in different colors, or have 
some shrub or other mark, by which the young queen as 
well as workers may be guided aright. The bees are 
sometimes so excessively agitated when their queen leaves 
for impregnation, that they exhibit all the appearance 
of swarming. They seem to have an instinctive percep- 
tion of the dangers which await her, and will sometimes 
gather round, and confine her, as though they could 
not bear to have her leave. If the queen is lost, the bees 
of an old swarm will gradually decline ; those of an after 
swarm will sometimes unite with another colony, or 
soon perish. 

INDICATIONS OF LOSS OF QUEEN. 

The following morning after a loss of this kind has 
occurred, and occasionally at evening, the bees may be 
seen running to and fro in the wildest consternation, en 
the outside of the hive. Some will fly'off a short distance 
and return ^one will run to another, and to another still, 
in the vain hope of meeting their lost queen, and all this 
will be going on while the other hives are quiet at work. 
Towards the middle of the day the confusion would be 
less marked, but the next morning it would be again en- 
acted, though not so wildly, and after the third or 
fourth day cease entirely, and they apparently become 
reconciled to their fate. They will continue their labors 
as usual, storing honey and pollen, although they do not 
manifest that energy or agility that is seen in a prosper- 



160 farmers' guide to bee keeping. 

ous colony. Some authors say that they will not gather 
pollen when queenless ; but such indications are not 
always reliable. It is highly necessary that the bee 
keeper should glance at every swarm in the morning for 
a few days after swarming, so that, if any such loss should 
occur at this time it may be remedied at once by the in- 
troduction of a cell, or a fertile queen. In early spring, 
every swarm should be examined for her presence. In 
the box hive, a little smoke may be blown in, and the 
bees driven back; if any brood can be discovered, it is 
a sure indication that she is there, and fertile. In the 
movable comb hive, it is only necessary to raise out one 
of the combs in the centre of the cluster, and the condi- 
tion will be recognized at once. If a few imperfect bees 
are found on the bottom board or in front of the entrance 
in early morning, it shows that the colony has a fertile 
queen, and further examination is unnecessary. 



MODES OF SECURING SURPLUS HONEY. l6l 



CHAPTER X. 

MODES OF SECURING SURPLUS HONEY. 

That the profit in bee keeping consists principally 
in securing surplus honey, I believe is an undisputed 
fact, and a few hints or suggestions in regard to the dif- 
ferent manners of procuring it, would not be unappreci- 
ated by the beginner. The putting on of boxes should 
be done at the proper time ; if they are put on too early, 
they will allow the heat of the hive to escape into them, 
at a time when it is most needed in the hive to keep the 
brood warm ; also, the moisture from the hive may ac- 
cumulate in them, causing mould to form on the inside. 
Experience and judgment are necessary, to know about 
what time boxes are required. There can be no defi- 
nite time given, which would be applicable to all sec- 
tions of country, but I find the best time to be when the 
hive is full of bees and honey ; or a day or two previous 
would be the proper time. They should be put on just 
before the bees begin to cluster on the outside of the 
hive, or on the appearance of white clover, so that they 
may cluster in them instead of idling away two or three 
weeks on the outside of the hive, as they often do while 
preparations are being made for swarming. Too much 
room in surplus boxes, might retard swarming a few 
days, but if the bees are crowded outside it indicates want 
of room and the boxes can make no difference. By stimu- 



1 62 farmers' guide to bee keeping. 

lative feeding, I usually get my boxes partly filled before 
my neighbors bees begin to swarm, simply, by my bees 
having work to do, while other's bees are idling away 
their time on the outside of their hives doing no one any 
good. (For description of the boxes I use and the mode 
of use, see chapter on Hives.) 

GLASS BOXES PREFERABLE. 

The advantage of using boxes with one or more 
sides made of glass, is that while being filled, the pro- 
gress can be watched until they are finished. As soon as 
they are filled, they should be at once removed, to pre- 
serve the purity of the combs. If they are allowed to re- 
main after being finished, every day that the bees are 
permitted to run over them, necessarily renders them 
darker. One reason for a large proportion of the dark 
colored honey we see in market, is attributed to the old 
foge" whim, that it is not time to takeoff honey until fall. 
But I shall insist, notwithstanding all such whims, that as 
soon as the honey is capped over, it should be removed 
at once, and empty boxes placed in their stead. When 
bees are a long time in filling the boxes, the comb is not 
as white as when filled expeditiously. Two weeks is 
about the shortest time in which boxes are filled and fin- 
ished. The time of course depends on the yield of honey, 
and the size of swarm ; although the average time is 
from three to four weeks. Occasionally a swarm will 
contain too many bees to work to advantage in one set 
of boxes. In such cases, when the first are well ad- 
vanced they should be raised up and another set put un- 



MODES OF SECURING SURPLUS HONEY. 1 63 

der them with holes for communication through both 
top a:id bottom. (See description of in chapter on 
Hives.) 

HOW TO REMOVE BOXES. 

This can be done at any time during the day. I 
usually prefer to remove them in the forenoon. It is ac- 
complished with apparent ease, by the use of a little to- 
bacco smoke blown under the box after raising one side 
of it a trifle, and then let it remain for a minute or two 
and the most of the bees will run down into the hive 
from the smoke, when it may be removed, and another 
put on, without fear of being stung, or of exciting their 
anger in the least. If they t .are removed at a time when 
honey is plenty, in the field, they may be turned bottom 
side up, directly in front of the hive, close up to, and 
against the alighting board. They should never be car- 
ried away to the cellar or house, as some are in the habit 
of doing \ because there are many young bees in the box 
that have never flown, and when they come out, they 
cannot find their home, and will often loiter around 
where the box was until they perish. If they are set 
close to the hive when they come from the box, they 
will' run direct into the hive, and be well received. The 
box should not be allowed to stand in the sun, in the 
middle of the day, as the combs will soon melt ; but 
should be covered with a small piece of board. When 
there is no yield of honey from the field, the bees are 
disposed to rob, and a different method must be adopted 
in order to secure it from the robbers. In fact I like it 



164 farmers' guide to bee keeping. 

so well, and it is so little trouble, that I always use it 
even to remove honey when there are no robber bees 
to contend with. I make a box of thin boards, suffi- 
ciently large to hold all the boxes I wish to remove 
from one hive, at a time ; this I place directly in front 
of the hive, and against the alighting board. I now put 
my honey boxes in the box, in such a manner that the 
bees can get out of them, and cover it with a piece of 
white cloth to admit the light. The bees will leave the 
boxes, crawl to the top and get on the cloth. Turn 
this cloth over a few times, and you will dispose of all 
the bees in a short time. The old bees may take wing, 
but will soon alight at the entrance of the hive, and very 
soon call all of the young ones, so that none will be lost ; 
and your boxes will not be troubled with robbers. 

boxes on new swarms. 

Some writers argue that it is not good policy to put 
boxes over new swarms ; but with such I beg leave to 
differ. If my swarms are large and early, " after a lapse 
of two or three days, I put the boxes over, and from a 
good swarm I frequently get more honey than from 
the old stock, even if it does not cast but one swarm. I 
would not recommend putting the boxes on the same 
day they were hived, because they would often com- 
mence building comb in the boxes first ; but if they 
were compelled to commence in the hive first, there 
would then be no danger of their deserting it for the 
boxes. Occasionally, if the swarm is not large, it would 
be best not to give them more than one or two boxes, 



MODES OF SECURING SURPLUS HONEY. 1 65 

and economize the heat of the hive as much as possible. 
At the end of the honey season ,the boxes should all be re- 
moved, as, if they remain on too long, the bees will carry 
the honey down into the hive; and if the boxes are 
allowed to remain on all winter, they will become sour 
and mouldy from the dampness arising from the bees, 
and are unfit thereafter for storing honey therein. 

HOW TO SECURE HONEY FROM WORMS. 

I have often been asked the question, how I keep 
the worms out of the boxes, after they are taken orT, even 
after having taken all possible pains in pasting paper 
over the holes in the boxes ; and still they will persist 
in getting in. The matter is still enveloped in mystery, 
and I believe Mr. Quimby was the first man to advance 
a theory that looked reasonable in the mind of the bee- 
keeper. His theory is that the eggs are deposited on the 
bottom-board, on the combs, or in the joints of the hive, 
by the miller whenever it can gain access to the hive ; 
and that the eggs are carried to the boxes by sticking to 
the feet of the bee. Were the eggs to hatch in the box 
while on the hive, the bees would remove them, but when 
the boxes are taken off, with some of the miller eggs in 
them, if set in a warm place and in warm weather, they 
soon hatch and commence their depredations on the 
comb. The comb or wax is the food of the worm, and 
it never touches the honey. 

• Mr. Quimby' s remedy is to set the honey in a dry, 
cool cellar ; but it must be dry, for if damp it would 
soon sour the honey ; and if kept cool enough to pre- 



166 farmers' guide to bee messing. 

vent the eggs hatching, there will be no trouble with 
worms in honey boxes. Another method he recom- 
mends is to put the honey, after the eggs are hatched, 
in a box or barrel, and burn a brimstone match under 
them keeping it confined closely for several hours ; this 
will destroy the worms, but caution must be exercised, 
and not use too much, as it will cause the combs to look 
green. I have never tried his method of burning brim- 
stone, but I think it would be an effectual remedy after 
the eggs have hatched ; but before, it could have no in- 
fluence whatever. It is seldom that . I am troubled with 
worms in boxes, unless the bees go up into them to store 
bee bread ; in which case, they will generally be found. 
I cannot recall one instance in which I found them, that 
there was not bee bread in the cells. Why it is so, I 
am unable to state, unless the eggs are deposited with 
the bee bread, and if they were, I cannot but think that 
they were carried there by the bees, because the miller, 
as shy as she is of the bees, would never pass through the 
colony to the boxes to deposit her eggs. 

GLASS JARS, TUMBLERS, ETC., FOR HONEY RECEPTACLES. 

There are few, even at this day of improvements, 
who try the experiment of having honey stored in glass 
receptacles ; and many a one is often perplexed by 
watching day after day, and week after week, and in- 
deed the ei t ; e hi.ney season, to see their expectations 
realized ; while with a little knowledge and experience, 
the wants of the bee-keeper may often be realized, by 
inserting in the glass jars a small piece of white comb 



MODES OF SECURING SURPLUS HONEY. 1 67 

where the combs are desired. The bees do not enter 
and commence their combs as readily, in glass jars, as in 
boxes made of wood. I find it a very great advantage 
and it often decides whether we have surplus honey or 
not, to insert small pieces of comb, if not more than 
one inch square, in the tops of the boxes, in the direction 
you desire the bees to work. This will induce them to 
commence work several days sooner, than if they have to 
start the combs themselves. When guide combs are 
used, and the boxes put on as soon as the honey harvest 
commences, the bees will at once begin storing honey 
in them, which will leave more space in the body of the 
hive for the queen to deposit eggs, and thus facilitate 
breeding and bring the colony up to a high standard of 
strength in numbers, so that they are well prepared to 
lay up a profit for their master. Guide combs may be 
readily fastened in the boxes, by melting one edge by a 
lamp, or dipping it in a little melted beeswax, and ap- 
plying it to the place before it cools, that it may adhere 
to the board. One point should always be observed, 
and that is, to put the combs into the boxes the same 
edge up as when made by the bees. In selecting pieces 
of comb for guide, drone comb is preferable, as it re- 
quires less wax to hold the same amount of honey, than 
it would to construct it of the small or worker cells ; al- 
though when the worker comb is used, and honey is very 
plenty in the field, the bees will often change and build 
drone comb, knowing as they do, that it takes less wax 
to make it. 



1 68 FARMERS GUIDE TO BEE KEEPING. 

LARGE VS. SMALL BOXES. 

Much has been written in the last few years on this 
subject. I believe it is now a settled question among 
practical apiarians, that bees will store much more hon- 
ey in large boxes, than in small ones. I have often no- 
ticed the bee keeper who always uses the old box hive, 
will put on one box at a time, and that, not until after the 
hive is done swarming, for fear that he will not have 
any swarms, if he puts it on before. His box will hold, 
perhaps, six pounds, and perhaps twelve ; and when it is 
filled, he will remove it, and put on another ; as in 
almost every case, if bees will work in one box of six 
pounds, they will work with about the same energy 
in four at one time, and will fill them very nearly 
as quick, making a vast difference in the amount of 
honey produced in the season. Now if the capacity of 
the four, is in one large box, they will fill it sooner than 
they would the four. The large box will answer the 
purpose of the bee keeper best, if he has but a few 
stocks, and does not wish to market his honey ; but if 
he has a large number of stocks, and desires to sell hon- 
ey, then some other box is required. Why? because 
the honey in the large box will not command so large a 
price per pound as it would in small boxes. One writer 
recently gave his experience in the American Bee 
Journal; that he received seven cents more per pound 
for honey in boxes of three pounds weight, than he did 
for boxes holding six pounds. My experience is, and I 
have had not a little of it, since having been engaged in 
the bee and honey business, that honey, at the prices it 



MODES OF SECURING SURPLUS HONEY. 1 69 

has been in Chicago and New York this year, would 
bring 20 cts. per pound in twenty pound boxes net 
weight, and in six pound boxes, it would be a drug on 
the market at 23 cts. per pound, while in single frames, 
or about two or three pound boxes, my orders have been 
in advance of my shipments, or in other words it is sold 
at 30 cts. per pound box and all, without tare. I find 
that I can get more honey, and in better shape, from my 
bees, in boxes that hold fifteen pounds each and then 
separate them into five boxes each holding three pounds. 
I thus have the advantage of the large box, in storing 
honey, and the small one in selling, which makes a 
vast difference in the returns from my apiary, especially 
if I put upon each side of the three pound box a light 
of 5x6 inch glass, which in fact improves the looks of 
the package, and makes it sell better ; as boxes of this 
size are always sold without deducting the weight of box, 
it necessarily gives me a good profit on the glass. (For 
full description of my box and mode of use, see surplus 
boxes, in chapter on Hives,) 



I70 FARMERS' GUIDE TO BEE KEEPiNV. 



CHAPTER XL 

THE MELL EXTRACTOR. 

It is now about six years since the news came across 
the mighty waters of the Atlantic Ocean, that a German 
by the name of Von Hruschka had devised a machine 
which would extract honey from the comb without in- 
juring it in the least. It was found, however, up3n trial, 
to be imperfect, but as soon as Yankee genius had 
learned the first principles of the operation, their inven- 
tive talents were set at work, and a perfect machine was 
soon produced, and we now have honey extractors that 
are both simple and convenient. It has been a study for 
years, by some of our most practical apiarians, even 
bringing into requisition the suction pump, and other ap- 
pliances to produce the desired result. Mr. Langstroth 
says, that for years he had studied, and sought a knowl- 
edge of mechanics, but all to no purpose ; but, says he, 
if any one had said to me ' 'Centrifugal Force," I should 
have shouted, "Eureka." The invention and its mer- 
its have spread with greater rapidity than did the inven- 
tion of the movable comb frame. The bee keeping com- 
munity had but just begun to learn the advantages of 
movable frame, when the extractor made its appears 
ance, and together they have revolutionized the whole 
science of bee keeping, and words fail to express the 
feeling of gratitude everywhere existing toward the in- 



HONEY EXTRACTOR. 171 

ventors of the movable comb frames and the mell ex- 
tractor. I must say with others, that like the movable 
comb hive, no apiary is complete without it ; and the 
name of Von Hruschka deserves to be placed side by 
side with that of the inventor of the movable comb 
frame. 

ADVANTAGES OF THE MELL EXTRACTOR. 

When we take into consideration that from fifteen 
to twenty-five pounds of honey are used to make a single 
pound of comb, besides the time consumed in its con- 
struction, the advantages of such machine will be readily 
seen. The machine has already been sufficiently tested 
to prove that twice, and even thrice the amount of hon- 
ey may be obtained from the same stock of bees, and 
with about the same care, as formerly without it. It is 
an established fact, since the introduction of this ma- 
chine, that in an abundant honey harvest, the bees 
will gather more honey, and faster, than they can build 
comb to receive it. When empty combs can be furnish- 
ed, the yield of honey will be many times greater than 
by the old method. It occasionally happens that some 
stocks seem determined to store honey only in the 
breeding department of the hive ; in such cases, a good 
yield of honey may be obtained, by throwing out the 
honey with the machine, and thereby to give the queen 
an opportunity of depositing eggs in the cells just emp- 
tied, thus increasing the numbers of the stock, until they 
can be induced to store honey away from the breeding 
department. This is frequently the case with the Italian 



172 farmers' guide to bee keeping. 

bees, with their eager propensity for gathering honey, 
and storing it in the body of the hive, which greatly cir- 
cumscribes the number of breeding cells ; so much so, 
that we have almost decided that, to keep the Italian 
species, it is necessary to throw the honey from the brood 
combs, or suffer our swarms to be reduced to almost a 
handfull of bees at the close of the honey season. I 
think it of great advantage to use it on a parent stock 
that has thrown off a swarm, just as the young queen 
commences to lay, as, until that time, the bees will fill 
the cells with honey, as fast as the brood that was left by 
the old queen comes out, consequently there will be but 
little room left for the use of the young queen. The 
yield will be great, as several days will have elapsed, 
after the young brood has received the food necessary for 
their development, while all the honey that is gathered 
will be stored in the empty cells. There are many other 
advantages to be derived from the use of the mell ex- 
tractor, but space will not admit of their enumeration. 

how constructed. 

There are several different patterns of machines now 
in use, among the most prominent is the one called the 
" Peabody Honey Extractor." They all employ the 
one means of action, which is centrifugal force. They 
are simple in construction, being nothing more than a 
square box or can, of any desired si2e, usually about 18 
inches long, 14 inches wide, and 12 inches deep; at 
each side or end we secure a piece of coarse wire cloth, 
about one inch from the side against which the comb is 



HONEY EXTRACTOR. I 73 

placed. Passing perpendicularly through the centre of 
the box, is an iron shaft, made to turn in a stand set on 
the floor. The box is secured to the perpendicular shaft 
and revolves with ease ; in the bottom of the box there 
should be a place to draw off the honey. I have con- 
structed one for my own use, so arranged that the honey 
will flow out through the centre of the shaft, directly into 
a bottle or other receptacle, while the machine is in mo- 
tion. When made of tin and iron alone, they are easily 
kept clean, and less liable to become sour than when 
made of wood. Some are made with a set of gearing, 
by which the box is caused to revolve rapidly, forcibly 
throwing out the honey, and also more liable to throw 
the young larvae from the cells, if brood comb is being 
worked ; although with a little experience, they can be 
operated without disturbing the brood in the cells. I 
must here give a word of caution to all bee keepers who 
may be in quest of a honey extractor. There is a man 
in Kentucky, by the name of D. L. Adair, who adver- 
tises largely in the bee journals to send the best extract- 
or now in use, for fourteen dollars. I sent, last May, the 
amount in a registered letter. In a few days I received 
a receipt from our P, M. , signed by Mr. Adair, and stat- 
ing that the money was received ; but from that day I 
have not heard a word from him, neither have I got a 
machine ; and I find upon inquiry that he is a humbug, 
and a swindler of the first water. I have written him 
three times since, and the P. M. at his office informs me 
that he delivered the letters to him personally, so that 
there can be no mistake in the action he has taken. He 



174 farmers' guide to bee keeping. 

also advertises queens, hives, &c, for sale. I would ad- 
vise all persons to beware of him. 

method of using. 

When it is desired to remove surplus honey from 
the combs with the extractor, it is essential that a mov- 
able comb hive, of some style, should be used. The old- 
fashioned box hive will be of no use with the extractor, 
unless a sectional honey box should be used like the one 
I have recommended : if they are employed they can be 
separated, and the honey thrown out, and then returned 
to the hive. The usual amount of honey can be more 
than doubled in this manner, and at the close of the 
season the boxes can be left on until the bees seal them 
over. The boxes on the movable comb hive can be 
treated in the same manner, and are of great advantage 
to be used on hives, instead of using a double hive. 

Many use a double hive, that is, one hive placed 
above the other, but unless you have frames filled with 
comb to put into the hive, it will be some time, even in 
a good honey season, before there will sufficient comb 
built and filled, ready to be emptied. I would not ad- 
vise throwing the honey from the body, or breeding 
chamber of the hive, only at such times as mentioned 
above. I think it better to have a surplus chamber, 
either a two-story hive, or the sectional honey boxes ; 
then your honey is always sure to be clear and pure, and 
there is no danger of being mixed with larva; &c M which 
is frequently the case, when removed from the brood 
rhamber. 



FARMERS GUIDE TO BEE KEEPING. 1 75 

To remove the honey from the combs, a little smoke 
is necessary to drive the bees, and render them quiet, 
the same as is necessary on any other occasion ; a few 
bees will remain on the comb if of the common or na- 
tive variety ; but if of the Italian, there will be many 
adhering to it ; they are not so easily driven from their 
stores as the black bees. After the comb is removed 
from the hive, give it a quick, sharp shake downward, 
and many of them will be dislodged from the comb. 
Care must always be observed in shaking not to use force 
sufficient to break the comb; if new it is very tender, and 
when loaded with honey is easily broken. One reason 
why I prefer the sectional honey box frames for the ex- 
tractor is, that the combs are only five by six inches, and 
invariably the comb is attached to the bottom, as well as 
to the sides and top. They can be handled more roughly 
to get the bees from them than when a large comb frame is 
used from the double hive, or from the breeding cham- 
ber. After shaking, which should always be done over 
the colony, or immediately in fiont of the hive,- so that 
if the queen is removed, she may return safely to her 
home. There will be some adhering, which it will be 
necessary to brush off with a small brush or twig ; never 
use a broom, because if a bee becomes entangled in the 
brush it becomes enraged, and you will soon have lively 
times on the retreat, but no danger need be apprehended 
if caution is exercised. 

Should any of the cells from which you desire to 
throw the honey be capped over, the caps must be re- 
moved by a thin, sharp knife > a common case-knif^' will 



I 76 HONEY EXTRACTOR. 

do, but there are those made especially for that purpose, 
that I think are preferable. After the caps are removed, 
it is ready to be placed in the machine against the wire 
cloth and a few revolutions of the extractor will empty 
the honey from the comb, when it may be turned around, 
treated as before, and it is ready to go to the 
hive again. If many hive are to be treated in 
this manner, and the double hive or sectional box i 
used, it is advisable to have ready some frames to take 
the place of those removed, so that all manipulations 
can be done at one time, and thus obviate the necessity 
of disturbing the bees the second time to replace the 
frames. The frames of the sectional honey box I use 
may be hung in a hive, or box, set upon the top of the 
breeding chamber, of sufficient depth to receive one or 
two tiers of the frames. If they are hung in a frame 
just large enough to receive three or six at a time, it is 
the most convenient and profitable method for the use of 
the extractor, much more so, than to use frames with 
large combs, which increases their liability to break 
down, and often cau»e much trouble ; and I firmly be- 
lieve that after having once tried them, no bee keeper 
will ever use any other method for extracting honey. 

LARGE YIELDS OF EXTRACTED HONEY. 

I will mention a few reports as given to the public, 
as true statements, and of being correct in every partic- 
ular, I have not the slightest doubt. Mr. M. Quimby, 
of St. Johnsville, N. Y., reports that from one swarm of 
bees ^}e extracted over 560 pounds of honey. Mr. A. J. 



HONEY EXTRACTOR. 177 

Root, of Ohio, better known to the readers of bee jour- 
nals by the name of "Novice," reports for the year 1869, 
from 46 colonies, 6,162 pounds of honey, and 18 new 
swarms. Miss Kate Grimm of Jefferson, Wisconsin, a 
young lady of seventeen years, reports, that unaided, she 
extracted 10 barrels of honey (3,700 lbs.) from 159 
swarms, 20 of which were double, and all but 48 were 
young swarms. I might give many more reports, and 
some even larger than these, but instead will refer the 
reader to the different bee journals, published for the 
benefit of those who are already in the business, or con- 
template making it a source of income ; to all I would 
recommend them, if they desire to attend to bee keep- 
ing understanding^. 

TREATMENT OF EXTRACTED HONEY. 

Extracted liGney, as is readily seen, is in the liquid 
form, and when strained through a cloth, is free from 
all impurities, has a clear transparent look, and a shade 
receiving its hue somewhat from the plants from which 
it is gathered ; very different in appearance from that 
which is Gften exposed for sale by the old brimstone bee 
keepers ; an admixture of honey, bee-bread, brimstone 
fumes, et cetera. The best method of putting it up for 
market is, undoubtedly, in good self-sealing glass fruit 
cans, holding from two to four pounds each. Those who 
have it in large quantities put it into barrels, and sell it 
in'bulk, being satisfied with the low price it brings in 
such shape. Extracted honey does not find as ready 
sale, nGr command as high price, as honey sold in the 

$ 



178 FARMERS' GUIDE TO BEI KEEPING 

comb, but each bee keeper must do as Mr. Borher says, 
establish for himself an honorable reputation to secure 
its ready sale, or his customers may have suspicions of 
adulteration. The cheapness in price, usually one-half 
or two-thirds the price of good box honey is more than 
compensated for in the extra yield, being often three or 
lour times the amount of box honey, so that the profits 
are not lessened by the use of the mel extractor. Many 
have complained of the honey becoming candied after 
being extracted ; bat it soon returns to the liquid state 
again by placing the vessel containing it in a dish of 
water and heating it. One writer affirms that if heated 
as soon as extracted, tor twenty minutes, and then sealed 
in air-tight cans while hot, there will be no trouble of 
its candying. This heating process not only drives off 
the moisture which would have evaporated, had the hon- 
ey been left in the hive until sealed, but it also expels 
the apis matifica or bee poison, which renders honey so 
pernicious to some constitutions. 



WAX AND COME. ?79 



CHAPTER XIL 

WAX AND COMBS. 



Most apiarians previous to Ruber's time, supposed 
that wax was made from bee bread or pollen, either in a 
crude, or digested state ; and even at the present day 
we occasionally find those of the old style bee keepers 
who think that the pollen which they carry in, is for the 
manufacture of comb ; but such is not the case. Wax 
is a natural secretion of the working bee, a nd may be called 
their oil, or fat. When gorged with honey, or any 
liquid sweet, if they remain quietly clustered together, 
it is secreted in the shape of thin delicate scales, in 
small pouches on the abdomen. The annexed 
cut will exhibit its appearance ; it can also be 
seen with the naked eye, when they are build- 
ing comb in glass honey boxes ; some with 
only one or two scales, others with tvery sack 
or pouch full, I have often observed them when loaded 
with wax to appear lazy, moving sluggishly, !and hav- 
ing the appearance of feeling uncomfortable ; and I 
have no doubt, that at that time such were their feelings. 
Huber proved beyond a doubt, by confining a swarm of 
bees and furnishing them with honey and water, and 
after five days confinement he perceived that they had 
consumed the whole of their provisions and had con- 
structed several combs of beautiful wax. These combs 




180 farmers' guide to bee keeping. 

were removed and more honey given them, and the result 
was the same. This removal was made five times suc- 
cessively and on each occasion, being supplied exclu- 
sively with honey, they produced new comb ; thus put- 
ting it beyond dispute, that this substance effected the 
secretion of wax in the body of the bee. And further, 
to ascertain whether the saccharine principle were the 
real source of wax, he supplied the captive bees with 
sugar in the form of syrup, and the result was still the 
same ; wax was produced, and that in a shorter period 
and in greater abundance than from honey ; as the re- 
verse of this experiment would prove whether pollen had 
the same property, instead of supplying the bees with 
honey or sugar he fed them only on fruit and farina. 
They were kept captives eight days under a glass, with a 
comb, having only farina in the cells ; yet they neither 
made wax nor were there any scales of wax on their 
abdomen, as was the case when honey and sugar were 
used. 

Upon the whole, until I meet with a more proba- 
ble theory supported by facts, I mast give it as my hum- 
ble opinion that the wax is produced in only one way ; 
and in all cases upon the abdomen of the bee in very 
minute scales, and that wax cannot be produced unless 
the bee feeds upon honey or sugar, or what honey and 
sugar is produced from, and that bees do not produce 
wax continually, but only at such times as comb is needed 
in the storing of honey. At such times bees consume 
a much greater amount of food than when there is no 
need of corah. 



WAX AND COMB. l8l 

HOW THE COMBS ARE BUILT. 

When a swarm of bees are about to leave the parent 
hive, the majority of them will fill their sacks with honey. 
When located in their new home, of course no cells ex- 
ist in which to store it, and it must remain in the 
stomach of the bees for some time, and the consequence 
is, that white scales are formed on the abdomen 
about one-sixteenth of an inch in diameter, and nearly 
round. With their legs they detach one of these scales and 
convey it to their mouth, when they pinch it with their 
forceps or teeth, until one edge becomes somewhat 
roughened, it is then applied to the place where wanted, 
either on the comb, or to the top of the hive. Frequent- 
ly the rudiments of the comb may be seen within one 
hour after the bees are hived. Upon examining we 
may often find three or four pieces of comb, as large as 
the hand, have been built in the first twenty-four hours 
that the bees have been in the hive, and I have seen the 
comb hanging to the limb of a tree, where a swarm had 
remained over night. The bee keeper may readily 
know when the swarm is building comb by observing 
the bottom board the morning after the bees are hived. 
Many small scales of wax will be found, that have either 
fallen from their grasp accidently, or been thrown away 
as useless ; and the quantity continues to increase as 
long as comb building goes on, until it not unfrequently 
amounts to a handfull or more. As a proof that may 
be relied upon, that the bees are building comb, and 
without disturbing them to examine the inside of the 
hive, we have only to brush the scales from the bottom 



182 farmers' guide to bee keeping. 

board every day, and by a little experience we can easily 
judge of the rapidity of their progress. It is asserted by 
some that the bees gather up the scales, and use them ; 
but I have failed to discover, in all my observations, that 
such is the case. I should sooner think that the scales 
were blown out of the hive by the bees fanning the hive 
with their wings to maintain the desired temperature with- 
in, and are thus lost, and are not used to construct comb. 
I have often seen comb built from small pieces, by a 
swarm that had been recently transferred. It is of a 
darker color, thicker and heavier, than when made of 
wax # scales from the body of the bee. 

cells uniform in size. 

The size of the cells in which workers are reared 
never vary much. The same may be said of drone cells, 
although they are much larger. Those that are built for 
store comb vary greatly in depth, while in diameter they 
are of all sizes, from the worker to that of the drone 
cells. Five worker or four drone cells, will measure 
about one linear inch. Thus, a square inch of comb 
will contain on each side twenty-five worker, or sixteen 
drone cells. The cells of bees are found to be a perfect 
mathematical problem. Thus, let it be required to find 
what shape a given quantity of matter must take, in 
order to have the greatest capacity and strength ; occu- 
pying at the same time, the least space, and consuming 
the least labor in construction. When this problem is 
solved the answer is, the hexagonal or six-sided cell of 
the honey bee, with its three angled base of one cell, 



WAX AND COMB. 1 83 

which forms a part of the base of three other cells, on 
the opposite side of the comb, and each of the six sides 
of one cell forms one side of six other cells. Thus it 
will be seen that this shape will make the strongest cell, 
each angle forming a perfect brace, and answers the 
purpose, for the development of the larvae, better than any 
other shape, except the circle, which would cause a need- 
less expenditure of space, as well as material. 

DRONE CELLS. 

These are rarely made in the top of the hive or 
breeding chamber, but they will often commence to 
build them, about one third of the distance from 
the top. As bees, in building their cells can not 
pass immediately from one size to another, they display 
an admirable sagacity in making the transition, by a 
set of irregular five-sided cells. Thus they are enabled 
to pass from one size to another ; but I do not remem- 
ber of ever having seen the transition from drone to 
worker, but always from worker to drone. It often oc- 
curs that there is too much drone comb made for the 
prosperity of the colony, as, whenever it is in the hive, 
the bees will raise thousands of drones, more than are 
reqired. They are correctly named, the idlers of the 
hive, and I have seen colonies in which there were so 
many, that they would consume the honey about as 
fast as the little worker could gather it. 

It is not unfrequently the case in a very prosperous 
honey season, for some swarms, especially the Italian 
race, in their zeal to gather honey, that they will 



1 84 FARMERS 1 GUIDE TO BEE KEEPING. 

build whole cards of drone comb, to their own detri- 
ment in the future. To remedy this evil, the drone 
comb may be cut out, but the space should always be 
filled with a piece of worker comb, and not be left for 
the bees to build new comb in, for they will invariably 
fill it with drone comb again. Hence the necessity of 
saving all pieces of good comb, the worker to take the 
place of the drone comb, and the drone comb for the 
honey boxes. 

VALUE OF EMPTY COMB. 

Careful experiments have proved that from fifteen to 
twenty-five pounds of honey are required to make a sin- 
gle pound of wax. As wax is an animal oil secreted 
chiefly from honey, this fact will not appear incredible 
to those who are aware how many pounds of corn or 
hay are required to be fed to cattle that they may gain 
a single pound of fat. Many bee keepers are utterly ig- 
norant of the value of empty comb, it should, therefore, 
be considered a first principle in bee culture, never to 
melt good comb. Unfortunately, in the ordinary box 
hive, but little use can be made of empty comb, unless 
it is new, and can be put in the surplus boxes ; but by 
the use of the movable comb hive, every good piece of 
worker comb may be given to the bees again. 

ARTIFICIAL COMB. 

In the year 1870 the bee keepers of the country 
were in high glees in anticipation of the introduction 
of the greatest improvement in bee culture ; namely, ar- 



WAX AND COMB. 1 85 

tificial comb. It was announced by two of our most 
prominent apiarians, Messrs. Quimby and Mitchell, 
that they had made the long looked for and greatly de- 
sired comb. One was of metal, the other of paper and 
wax, and it was thought that when two such men had 
devoted their time and money, and had heralded it forth 
to the public, that it must be a success ; but the thing 
has died away to be numbered with the things of the 
past, as the instinct of the bee refuses to accept an arti- 
cle which it is unable to appropriate. ( I have not a 
doubt, but that a found ation can be made, and will be 
made in a short time, with the rudiments of cells start- 
ed, so that the bees may have their work laid out for 
them, in the direction that we may desire them to work; 
but as for human ingenuity ever making comb just like 
that made by bees, it never can, never will be done. I 
have no more faith in it than I have in a perfect non- 
swarming hive ever being made. 

HOW TO REDUCE COMB TO WAX. 

There was introduced into this country, from Switz- 
erland, last year, a machine for extracting wax. It is 
very simple in its construction, and must come into fa- 
vor with the apiarian. The wax is rendered, by steam, 
and it has the highest praise wherever used ; but as the 
old method will be practiced by the majority of bee 
keepers for years to come, I will describe the best meth- 
od. The comb should be put into a bag, made of strong, 
coarse strainer cloth, filling it as full as possible ; put 
this into a kettle of boiling water ; as the wax melts, 



1 86 farmers' guide to bee keeping. 

and rises to the top, it may be dipped off into a vessel 
to cool ; when the wax is all melted, the sack should be 
sunk two or three inches below the surface of the water 
by placing upon it some heavy article as a stone or iron, 
anything which will keep it below the surface until the wax 
floats to the top, when it should be allowed to cool, and' 
the wax can be removed. This process will render it 
much more free than can be done by pressing or squeez- 
ing, and will be found much cleaner than any other 
method, except by the use of the steamer. 



WINTERING BEES. 1 87 



CHAPTER XIII. 

WINTERING BEES. 

More bees are lost by wintering than by all other 
troubles combined. I consider this one of the most 
important points in bee keeping ; yet it is most sadly 
neglected by the masses.' But very few bee keepers give 
much attention to their bees in the summer, and I must 
say fewer still ever give them any protection in the winter. 
There are so many different modes and theories recom- 
mended that it is difficult to determine on any one of 
them with a prospect of perfect success. We are told to 
bury them ; put them in the cellar ; put them in a 
winter depository ; leave them on their summer stands ; 
and a dozen other methods are recommended ; until the 
inexperienced are driven almost to despair. We will 
first examine the condition of a stock left to nature, and 
see if it affords us any hints as to how we shall protect 
them. As soon as cold weather arrives, the bees cluster 
compactly together in their hives to maintain their usual 
amount of warmth. In very severe weather, every inch 
of space within their circle is occupied, even each cell 
uot containing honey or bee bread, holds a bee. Were 
you to pass a thermometer to the centre of the cluster, 
it will show a summer temperature, even when in the 
open air it is many degrees below zero. When the cold 
becomes intense, they keep up an incessant, tremulous 



1 88 FARMERS' guide to bee keeping. 

motion in order to develop more heat by active exer- 
cise ; and as those on the outside of the cluster becomes 
chilled, they are replaced by others. As all muscular 
exertion requires food to supply the wastes of the system, 
the more quiet they can be kept, the less they will eat. 
It is highly important, therefore, to protect them as far 
as possible in winter from every degree, either of heat 
or cold, which will arouse them to great activity. The 
old custom of leaving them on their summer stands in 
cold climates, has its objections ; while in milder cli- 
mates, perhaps no better plan could be devised. 

To winter bees successfully, it is important that 
each stock should contain a sufficient amount of honey, 
bee bread, and bees. Experiments have proved that 
it requires more honey to winter on the summer stands 
than when placed in the cellar or depository. For 
out door wintering each hive should contain from thir- 
ty to thirty-five pounds of honey, while within doors 
from five to ten pounds less will be sufficient. A 
swarm with too much honey will not come out in the 
spring as prosperous as one that has just enough. In 
the months of September and October, each stock 
should be examined, and if any are found deficient in 
honey, they should be fed before cold weather prevents 
their storing it in their cells and sealing it over. If the 
stock is too light, two small ones should be united. If in 
the box hive, this may be accomplished by inverting the 
best stock, or the one you wish to retain, and place 
over it the one you wish to drive the bees from ; now 
smoke the two with puff ball, smoking the upper hive 



WINTERING BEES. 1 89 

the most ; the bees will soon drop down among the oth- 
ers, and all having the same odor, there will seldom be 
any discord among them. They should be closed by 
tying over them a piece of cloth, so that the air may be 
admitted, and at the same time prevent the escape of the 
bees. They should be thus confined for twenty-four 
hours or more. If they should require more honey, 
they may be fed by giving them honey or simple syrup, 
with a bee feeder ; the one patented by C. C. Vandeu- 
sen, I consider the best, as it can be placed on the top 
of the box hive, and does not require to be covered, 
while robber bees are unable to get at its contents with- 
out passing through the colony. The hive from which 
the bees have been taken, may be set away in a cool, dark 
room, and should be thoroughly frozen during the win- 
ter, that all the eggs of the miller moth may be destroyed ; 
and there be no danger of any trouble from them 
before June. The hive may be used to put a new colony 
into, and thus save the comb and honey, which will 
give the new swarm something of a start to begin with. 
If the movable comb hive is used, they can be 
equalized with much less trouble. It often happens that 
a strong colony will store much more honey than they 
require, and by taking out one, two or three full frames, 
and exchanging with a weak one, both are benefited by 
the transfer. It is conceded by most of our practical 
apiarians, that there should be at least three or four 
quarts of bees in every hive, for successful wintering on 
the summer stand, in order a to protect the queen from 
the frosts of winter. Let us for a moment examine the 



I90 PARMERS' TO GUIDE BEE KEEPING. 

theory lately advanced by Mr. Hosmer, a western apia- 
rian, who is as successful as any in our acquaintance. 
He says that when bees are wintered in a warm place, 
beyond the reach of frost, a large number of bees are un- 
necessary; one quart being sufficient for the safety of 
the queen. If such colonies have food, both honey and 
pollen, they rear brood abundantly in the latter part of 
winter, and come forth from winter quarters much more 
populous than if they had been stronger in numbers in 
the fall. The theory is, that the old bees who have con- 
sumed honey all winter, die soon after they first fly in the 
spring ; while younger bees have a lease of life before 
them, and form a more vigorous force for cherishing 
brood, which is about all they to do in the first few 
weeks of spring. He rears surplus queens in small 
boxes, and about the same season of the year that we 
unite our <veak colonies ; he divides his strong ones, so 
that with each queen, he has only a moderate amount of 
bees, with honey and bee bread in proportion. He 
goes so far in recommending his process as to say that 
he would reduce the numbers of all colonies, even if 
obliged to kill the bees, rather than to winter large 
stocks. I must say for myself, that in my opinion, there 
is more truth than poetry in his theory. By referring to 
my own observations during the past few years, I find 
those colonies that are weak in numbers after being buried 
or kept in a warm house, come out much more vigorous in 
the spring, and do the best the next season. The plan 
is well worth experimenting with, on a small scale, and 
I would recommend a trial; and if it is found to be 



WINTERING BEES. 191 

safe, the theory may substantiate the one I have recom- 
mended in my article on swarming, that it is better to 
work your bees for surplus honey in the early part of the 
season, and increase them to the desired number in 
the latter part. In whatever manner you may winter 
bees, one point should always be observed, and that is, 

UPWARD VENTILATION, 

It is well known that all animals or insects that 
breathe, exhale at every breath a moisture, or a small 
portion of water from the system unperceived in warm 
weather, but which condenses into particles large enough 
to be seen in a cold atmosphere. The food of the bee, 
being all liquid, nearly all will be exhaled in this man- 
ner. The small particles of moisture will lodge on the 
sides of the hive, and on the combs, in the form of frost, 
which accumulates as long as the severe cold weather 
continues. When the temperature of the hive is raised 
by milder weather, in the middle of the day, this begins 
to melt, first near the bees, but more particularly above 
the cluster. A succession of cold nights will prevent 
the evaporation of this moisture, and this process of 
freezing and thawing, will, after the lapse of a week or 
two, fill the hive completely with ice and frost. It often 
happens when the weather is warm enough in the middle 
of the day, to melt the ice or frost, and cause it to run 
down to the bottom-board, that when it comes in contact 
with the cold air at the entrance, it is again congealed 
there, and frequently closes it, so that no air can enter the 
hive, and the consequence is, the colony is smothered. 



192 farmers' guide to bee keeping. 

But smothering from an accumulation of ice and frost in 
the hive is not the only accident to which bees fall vic- 
tims ; starvation is a greater evil than suffocation. If 
the weather continues cold for three or four weeks, the 
frost will form so thick on the combs, that the bees can- 
not venture away from the cluster. If all the honey in 
their immediate vicinity is consumed, they cannot reach 
it through the frost, and without timely intervention of 
warmer weather, all would perish from what ? from star- 
vation, with, perhaps abundance of stores in their hive. 
This is what many call freezing to death ; but I call it star- 
ving to death. It frequently occurs that they freeze to 
death ; but it is caused by the frost above the bees melt- 
ing and running down, so as to wet them, and by a re- 
turn of very severe freezing, the whole mass of bees will 
be found frozen in one solid body. Even when the 
bees are not destroyed, they are often in a pitiable state 
of health, caused by the water from the melting frost, 
running into the cells containing honey or bee bread, 
and by the dampness of the hive it produces fermenta- 
tion, which produces disease in the bee when it feeds 
upon it, either dysentery or diseased brood. 

Usually, where much frost has been present during 
the winter, the combs are found to be mouldy in the 
spring, presenting a sad sight. The remedy for this 
moisture or frost, is simply giving the colony upward 
ventilation, not too much, but moderate. If the com- 
mon box hive is used, it is necessary that a few holes be 
made in the top and covered with wire cloth, or a piece 
of common factory cloth, and over the cloth plncc a 



WINTERING BEES. 1 93 

box filled with straw, chaff, or corn cobs; and in the 
side of the box make a hole one inch in diameter. This 
will permit the moisture to arise from the bees, into the 
straw, and escape through the hole ; there will be no 
moisture to congeal on the combs, and the combs will 
be found as bright in the spring as they were before 
winter set in. With the hive I use, I remove the sur- 
plus boxes, and place over the comb frames another 
frame covered with strong cloth, I then fill the cap or 
cover with straw, and put it in place on the hive. The 
frame to which the cloth is attached will hold the cloth 
up from the comb frames, so that the bees can pass over 
them, from one comb to another. In a few days after 
the cloth is put on, the bees will be found clustered to- 
gether up against the cloth, it being evidently the warm- 
est place in the hive ; now put four shingle nails through 
the side of the cap into the frame, that has the cloth at- 
tached, and the interior of the hive can be inspected at 
any time without trouble ; and frost on the combs will 
never be found. As soon as cold weather is past, it is 
best to remove the cloth and straw, and put on the 
honey boxes, with their sides down, in order to keep the 
breeding chamber as warm as possible, while they are 
raising brood rapidly. By whatever method bees are 
wintered, upward ventilation is absolutely necessary. 

WINTERING ON THEIR SUMMER STANDS. 

If the colonies are strong in numbers, and in stores; 
if they have upward ventilation, and the hives and en- 
trances are sheltered from the piercing winds, they 



194 farmers'' GUIDE TO J3EE KEKPlNG. 

have all the conditions necessary for wintering in the 
open air. Great injury is often done by disturbing a 
colony of bees, when the weather is so cold that they can- 
not fly. Many, who are tempted to leave the cluster, per- 
ish before they can regain it ; and every disturbance causes 
an increased consumption of food. If upward ventila- 
tion is neglected, no amount of protection that can be 
given the hives, in the open air, will prevent them from 
becoming damp and mouldy, even if frost is excluded. 
A thin hive, unpainted, so that the heat of the sun will 
penetrate it, will dry on the inside much sooner than 
one painted white. If the bees are left to winter on 
their summer stands, by following the above directions, 
the loss in an ordinary winter, will not exceed two per 
cent, and by using the movable comb hive, all the 
above conditions can be made perfect. 

OTHER METHODS. 

If the apiarian should desire to bury his bees, a 
high mound or knoll should be selected, in light sandy 
soil, in order to avoid dampness. The plan to arrange 
the clamp, is very simple. First, set the hives, one 
above another, in a pyramidal form, not over four tiers 
high ; leaving a space of six inches between the hives 
for the circulation of air. The bottom tier should be 
set on scantling, or timbers, to keep them from the 
ground, and allow a free circulation of air. It 
more swarms are to be wintered than will form a pyra- 
mid, the clamp may be made long enough to accommo- 
date any number, but from seventy-five to one hundred 



WINTERING BEES. 1 95 

are sufficient to winter in one clamp. Upward ventila- 
tion should be given to each swarm, the same as for 
wintering in the open air ; the bees should be confined 
by placing over the entrance a piece of screen wire, that 
they may have air ; and for a pyramid of thirty hives, 
there should also be about four tubes or pipes leading 
from the outside to the inside of the mound, under the 
hives, to supply fresh air \ and in the top a ventilator 
or chimney, to allow the impure air to escape. Place 
some boards against the hives to keep off the covering, 
and they may be covered in, the same as roots or pota- 
toes are covered. 

With extra care, some will winter their bees with- 
out much loss, in this manner, while others will lose 
many colonies, and of course condemn the practice at 
once ; but for in-door wintering, perhaps a dry, dark, 
cool cellar would be the safest ; but the majority of cel- 
lars are too damp, and the combs become mouldy. If 
your cellar is not suitable, a winter dormitory may be 
made, with double walls filled in with saw-dust or tan- 
bark, to prevent the sudden atmospheric changes affect- 
ing the bees. One hundred swarms are sufficient for a 
room or cellar, as the warmth from them will keep the 
room sufficiently warm in the coldest weather. If the 
room should be too warm toward spring, a little ice or 
snow should be put in to cool the air, and keep the bees 
quiet ; should they become restless before it is time to 
set them out in the spring, they may be carried out on 
a fair warm day, allowed to fly, and returned, and kept 
confined until the cold weather is past. 



I96 FARMERS' GUIDE TO REE KEEPING. 

Colonies that have but a moderate amount of bees 
and honey, may be wintered with better success, in the 
clamp, cellar or dormitory, than on their summer stands ; 
but for strong swarms, I cannot say that they will do 
any better. For in-door wintering, the smallest colon- 
ies should be placed on the upper tier ; as it is found 
that they consume much less honey there, than on the 
bottom tier. I have heard of small swarms being 
wintered on the top tier of a mound, and losing less 
than eight pouuds in weight, while those on the bot- 
tom tier would lose about the same as those on the 
summer stands, gradually decreasing in each tier up- 
ward. 



ENEMIES OF BEES. 



CHAPTER XIV. 

ENEMIES OF BEES. 



I 9 7 



There is no enemy of the bee that is so much dread- 
ed by the ordinary bee keeper, as the moth miller. 
Those who still persist in using the old fashioned box 
hive, are unprepared to attack and dislodge it from its 
stronghold. The moth miller as represented in the an- 
nexed cut, is not the one 
that commits the ravages. 
It is the progeny of the 
miller, several hundred 
vile worms, that feed upon 
the comb or wax of the 
hive. It appears that they 
are the only insect which 
makes the comb their special food. No habitation for 
bees has yet been made, and I firmly believe that none 
ever will be made, that will give free ingress and egress 
to the bees, that does not give the same to the miller. 
During the day, the miller may be seen on the outside 
of the hive, usually on the corners, with about one-third 
of her body projecting over the edge. She rests in quiet 
repose, until the approach of evening, when she throws 
off the appearance of inactivity, and commences a vigor- 
ous search for a place in which to safely deposit her eggs, 
and woe to the colony that has not bees enough to keep 
her from the combs. She is very rapid in her move- 




198 FARMERS' guide to bee keeping. 

ments ; will search out the entrance to the hive, enter, 
and in a moment dodge out again, either from fear of 
the bees, or from having actually encountered them. This 
is sufficient proof, that if our stocks are strong and vig- 
orous, they will not permit her to deposit her eggs upon 
the comb, which instinct teaches her, is the proper 
place. In fact, when the practical apiarian is asked the 
best method for protecting their stocks against the moth 
or miller, he will invariably answer (unless he is inter- 
ested in some patent moth trap) that a strong stock of 
bees is the best remedy. But she must deposit her eggs 
somewhere ! When she cannot reach the combs, the next 
best place is the cracks and flaws about the hive. Be- 
tween the hive and bottom-board, if the bottom is loose, 
is a very good place. When the young after hatching can 
crawl into the dust on the bottom-board, which is mostly 
small pieces -of comb, and when once where it can get a 
start to live, it wiH soon crawl up on the combs and 
commence its depredations. The miller will often, 
when no cracks are found, deposit her eggs at the en- 
trance of the hive, and many times they are carried in 
by adhering to the bees as they enter. They are fre- 
quently found upon the combs of the best stocks, and I 
can conceive of no other method by which they could 
get there. No colony of bees is so strong, but that 
some time, there may be worms in it, but the stronger 
the stock, the less danger of being troubled with them. 
The annexed cut gives a very 
good representation of the 
worm. When the worm has 



ENEMIES OF BEES. 1 99 

once effected a lodgement on the comb, it makes its 
way directly to the centre, if possible ; if not, it will get 
between the heads of the young bees and the sealing ; 
and as it proceeds, eats a passage, which it lines with a 
silken web, and gradually enlarging it, as it increases 
in size ; fastening the young bee in its cell, until the web 
is removed by the bees, or by the hand of the bee 
keeper. If the worm can get to the centre of the comb, 
it will escape the notice of the bees for sometime ; but 
when they do detect it, they will bite away the comb on 
one side, and remove the brood or immature bees in one 
or two rows of cells, sometimes for several inches, until 
they reach the intruder, and carry him out. This ac- 
counts for the number of immature bees found 
on the bottom-board, mornings in spring. Where a 
worm has been removed from the centre of the comb, it 
frequently leaves a hole through the comb, which the 
bees never fill. This loss of immature bees will often 
in one season, amount to a good sized swarm, if we take 
into account the loss of cells which are destroyed to 
remove the worm ; hence the stronger the stocks are 
kept, the easier it is to keep them strong. 

When the combs are filled with honey, the worms 
work on the surface, eating only the sealing. In strong 
stocks, the worms are harrassed by the bees that do not 
usually attain to more than half the size that they would 
if left undisturbed among the combs where they can 
thrive, and grow fat at their leisure. In queenless stocks, 
the guards, or sentinels at the entrance, do not protect 
their c ombs with that vigor they would manifest, if in a 



200 FARMERS GUIDE TO BEE KEEPING. 

prosperous condition, and the miller often effects an en- 
trance, with apparent ease, and when once admission is 
gained, and from one to five hundred eggs are deposited, 
destruction has already commenced. The labors of the 
bees are increased to drive the worms from the combs, 
and if the swarm is queenless, or small, they soon be- 
come discouraged, and the combs are easily confiscated 
by the worms. Whenever colonies have become reduced 
from over-swarming, or from any other cause, the 
ravages from worms may be expected ; hence, the neces- 
sity of using a hive in which you are able to govern the 
swarming, and thus keep your stocks strong. I never 
have any fear of losing a stock, by the moth worm, in 
the movable comb hive, and if a person will follow my 
mode of bee keeping, I can safely say that not one swarm 
in one hundred will ever be troubled by them. It is al- 
most an every day occurrence to hear bee keepers 
(those who use the common box hive, or that have no 
control over their bees) say that the millers got at them, 
and used them up, or, that they swarmed themselves to 
death, or that the swarms were so small that they were 
overpowered by the worms and destroyed. 

Here is where the inventor of some of the many 
styles of moth trap will step in, and tell you that his 
hive or trap will catch the moth miller, or the worm, that 
he may be summarily dealt with ; but kind reader ! if 
you will study the habits of the miller, you will soon 
discover that you are the miller the inventor is looking 
after, and when once caught in his trap, you will try in 
vain to entrap the moth miller, and in doing this, you 



ENEMIES OE BEES. 201 

will injure the strength of your colonies or furnish the 
miller a good place to thrive and increase unmolested. 
Butto return to our subject. The rapidity of the growth 
of the worm depends as much or more on the tempera- 
ture in which they are, than upon their good living. A 
few days of hot weather would develop the full-grown 
worm, while it would require weeks and even months in 
a lower temperature. The worm when full grown seeks 
a place of refuge and safety from the bees ; and if such 
places are to found on the inside of the hive, they are 
sure to find them ; hence the necessity of having the in- 
ternal arrangement of your hive as simple as possible. A 
full sized worm will crawl into a small crack or opening, 
and eat away the wood until it has sufficient room to spin 
a cocoon around itself; it soon changes into a chrysalis, 
and remains inactive for several days, when it makes an 
opening in one end of the cocoon, and comes forth a 
perfect miller, ready to lay its hundreds of eggs, for the 
perpetuation of the race, which are propagated very 
rapidly. 

Now let us go back, and see how the miller or worm 
passes the winter. The discovery that eggs and worms 
can be frozen to death, has led to a plan by which the 
whole race of moths may be exterminated from an 
apiary, and only re -appear from those of our neighbors ; 
but if the combs are not frozen there will be some eggs 
in the immediate vicinity of the cluster of bees that do 
not hatch until the temperature of the hive is raised suf- 
ficiently to hatch them. A moth will rarely be found 
before the middle of May, and but few will be seen pre- 



202 farmers' guide to lee keeping. 

vious to the middle of June ; after which they increase 
at a rapid rate until the end of the season j therefore it 
is highly important to destroy every one found early in 
the season, for every one destroyed then, may be the 
means of preventing the appearance of thousands later 
in the season. It should always be the rule of the apia- 
rian to destroy all worms or millers wherever or when- 
ever found, particularly in the early part of the season. 
A careful inspection of the hive should be made daily, 
and every miller found resting on the hive, should be 
despatched, although she is very much like a flea, when 
you put your finger on her, she is not there ; but a cau- 
tious and quick movement must be made, else she darts 
away. Oftentimes many worms may be induced to web 
up under a piece of split elder, the peth being first re- 
moved ; they may be placed against the hive or under 
it, but care should be taken that they be examined at 
least once a week and the worms killed. 



DISEASES OF EEES. 203 



CHAPTER XV. 

DISEASES OF BEES. 

Bees are subject to but few diseases which deserve 
especial notice. There appears to be but two distinct 
types noticed by apiculturists to which they are subject 
in this country, viz., Dysentery and Foul Bi'ood. The 
former of these generally makes its appearance in the 
spring, and may be recognized by the bees discharging 
their execrements over the combs; the interior of the 
hive ; and especially around the entrance. The color, 
instead of being a natural yellow, is of a dark, muddy 
appearance, and a sickening, offensive odor, which be- 
comes intolerable. It never has been my ill fortune to 
have a case in my apiary, where I have given upward 
ventilation to the hive. The cause may properly be as- 
signed to the moisture in the hive condensing into water 
and mixing with honey in the cells ; the bees feed upon 
it, and take more water than they are able to generate 
heat to throw it off. If the swarm is old, and many cells 
are filled with dead brood, which prevents the bees from 
packing close enough together to generate sufficient 
heat to throw off the moisture of the honey ; in such 
cases, upward ventilation would not save the life of the 
swarm unless they were removed to a warm room. Col- 
onies affected with dysentery are usually lost, the bees 
dwindling away one by one, unless warm weather timely 



304 farmers' guide to bee keeping. 

intervenes, or they are removed into a warm room, so 
that the water in the honey may be evaporated, which 
will generally terminate the trouble. 

diseased or foul brood. 

In the destruction of the nymph or pupa of the bee, 
by some derangement which causes it to undergo de- 
composition in the cell, arises a disease known as foul 
brood. When it makes its appearance in a colony, it 
spreads over that portion of the combs used for brood. 
Upon examination, the caps of the cells appear indent- 
ed, and slightly shriveled, emitting a very disagreeable 
odor that is often perceptible in passing a hive affected 
with it several feet distant. On removing the caps of 
the cells, instead of young bees, they are found to contain 
a mass of dark, grayish, putrid matter, and an extremely 
disagreeable smell. [The views in regard to the cause 
of this disease are of a very conflicting nature, some 
believing that it is produced by the brood being chilled 
in the cells ; others, that it is caused by the fermenta- 
tion of bee bread and honey. In the year 1869 we read 
in the American Bee Journal, that a Mr. Lambrecht, 
a noted German apiarian could produce the disease in a 
perfectly healty stock, in a short time, and could cure it 
as readily. He made a public trial, before a committee 
of bee keepers, some of whom had seen the effects of 
the disease to their own sorrow. In about seven weeks 
after the introduction of fermenting bee-bread and 
honey, the committee were satisfied that the colony were 
in a deplorable condition, from malignant foul brood. 



DISEASES OF BEES. 205 

The hive was then treated for a cure, and in eight weeks 
time the committee again met, and pronounced the col- 
ony in a prosperous condition, being entirely free from 
the cause of disease. Mr. Rood, of Wayne, Michigan, 
read a paper before the "Michigan Bee-Keepers' Asso- 
ciation " at its last session in 1871, on foul brood. He 
recommends that whenever the disease is found, it 
should be summarily dealt with, and the way to exter- 
minate the disease entirely is to bury it, hive, bees, 
and all, beyond any possibility of resurrection.* I can- 
not see why, by Mr. Quimby's method, in the hands of 
a skillful operator, it could not be treated without a lia- 
bility of spreading, and save the bees, honey, wax, and 
hive ; which would amount to several dollars in value, 
particularly if any great number of hives were invaded. 
Mr. Quimby has, without doubt, had more experience 
with foul brood than any other man in the United 
States. It appeared in his apiary something like thirty- 
five years ago, at a time when he could gain no informa- 
tion from his bee keeping acquaintances, nor from the 
books published at that time, and for his untiring perse- 
verance in studying and experimenting for the cause 
and cure of the disease, the bee keepers of the country 
owe him a lasting tribute. 

That the disease is contagious, is settled beyond 
a doubt, as much so as that measles, small pox, etc., are 
contagious in the human subject. Suppose a stock has a 
few cells, wherein is dead brood ; by the excessive heat 
of the hive it becomes putrid, and the adjoining cells 
are soon found to be in the same condition, all the 



2o6 FARMERS 1 GUIDE TO BEE KEEPING. 

breeding combs very soon become one decomposing 
mass, with the excption of an occasional cell that may 
have developed a perfect bee. The stock must evidently 
soon diminish to a very small family, not large enough 
to guard their own stores, and they are easily plundered 
by other stocks ; they carry out the honey that is in 
the hive with the thousands of decomposed dead bodies, 
of which it has absorbed a portion, and in this 
manner it is carried intohealthy colonies, which soon fall 
victims to the scourge, and in their turn contribute to 
propagate the malady, which only ceases with the des- 
truction of the last colony in the apiary, and perchance 
the last in the neighboring apiaries. The moth is ever 
ready to deposit her burden of eggs when the combs are 
bare, and soon the careless bee keeper will lay the trouble 
to the worms who are just finishing up the job. By a 
little care the old adage may be proven true, that "an 
ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure," if 
the bee-keeper will examine his stocks in early spring ; 
also examine the parent stock three weeks after throwing 
off the first swarm ; and whenever the disease is known 
to prevail, they should be examined in the fall, after they 
are done breeding. If any are found in the spring, or 
after swarming that are affected, I maintain that they 
can be saved without being buried. I have never had 
but one case, and that I cured; and have, in several in- 
stances seen it cured in other apiaries. The method is 
after Mr. Qurmby's plan, that of driving out all the bees 
(see transferring) and putting them into a new hive with- 
out combs. If you wish to put them into a hive with 



DISEASES OF BEES. 207 

combs, they should be kept in a box for three or four 
days, and fed just enough to keep them alive, until they 
have consumed all the honey they took from the old 
hive ; they may then be changed to a hive with combs, 
without danger from the impurities of the old hive. The 
hive from which the bees were driven must be secured 
from robber bees, as any of the honey, being carried into 
other stocks, would prove their destruction. The honey 
may be purified by adding to it a little water, boiling it 
for a few minutes, and removing the scum. The combs 
must be either melted or buried, to be beyond the reach 
of the bees. The hives may be renovated by the use of 
a powerful disinfectant, but I prefer to make kindling 
wood of them, especially if of the common box pattern ; 
they burn well, and it is the safest disposition that I can 
make of them. If a colony is found to be affected in the 
fall of the year, too late to build comb, and no combs 
on hand to put them in, perhaps the best disposition 
that could be made of them^ would be to consign them 
to the brimstone pit, rather than attempt to feed them 
through the winter, to lose them in the spring. 



208 FARMERS' GUIDE TO HEE KEEPING. 



CHAPTER XVI. 

FEEDING BEES. 

Few things in practical bee keeping are more im- 
portant and require a more thorough knowledge, than 
the feeding of bees ; and, ordinarily, no other point is 
more grossly neglected and mis-managed than this. In 
attempting to winter too small colonies, thousands often 
perish in the winter or early spring, and in consequence, 
many abandon bee keeping in disgust and despair. Col- 
onies, in the common box hive containing few combs 
and but little honey, should be fed in the latter part of 
September, or in October, an amount sufficient to carry 
them safely through the winter, or until warm weather. 
If fed at this season of the year, they are enabled to 
store the food in the cells and cap it over, thus prevent- 
ing the moisture of the hive coming in contact with 
it, causing it to sour, and thus exposing them to dys- 
entery. 

The chances of success are much more certain with 
the movable comb hive than with the box hive, where 
the requisite amount may be obtained from other strong 
stocks, where it has been sealed and evaporated suffi- 
ciently to be beyond danger of producing dysentery, 
by simply changing a light card from the weak colony 
for a heavy one from the strong stock ; both are usu- 
ally benefited by the transfer. If feeding is neglected 



FEEDING BEES. 209 

until winter, it may then be done by placing the hive in 
a cellar or moderately warm room. At such time only 
the best thick honey .should be used, or pure sugar 
candy, free from all flavoring and coloring. If candy is 
used, and the box hive, it may be inverted, and the 
candy laid directly on the combs ; some may be put in 
between the combs perpendicularly, but never horizon- 
tally. In the movable comb hive the candy may be 
laid on the top of the frames over the cluster, or by 
passing it down between the combs. If liquid honey is 
fed, I have never found any feeder among the many 
that have been invented, that is as simple and possesses as 
many good qualities as the one patented by Vandeusen. 
It can be placed over an opening in the top of the box 
hive, over the cluster of bees, and the warmth of the 
hive will keep the honey warm and no heat is allowed 
to escape. The honey does not drip from the feeder,, 
but the bees draw it out as they want it. The feeder 
can be used equally well on the movable comb hive,, 
over an opening in the honey board, if one is used. For 
spring or fall feeding it is a sure protection against rob- 
ber bees — they cannot get at the honey, even if the 
feeder is not covered. 

In the spring the prudent bee keeper will no more 
neglect to feed his destitute colonies than to provide 
for his own table. At this season, being stimulated by 
the returning warm weather, and being largely engaged 
in breeding, bees require a liberal supply of food, and 
many populous stocks perish which might have been 
saved with but trifling trouble or expense. I have known 



2IO FARMERS GUIDE TO BEE KEEPING. 

of a bee keeper losing one-fourth of his colonies in the 
few days intervening between the failure of apple blos- 
soms and the appearance of white plover. It is need- 
less to say that he used the common box hi\e — never 
could see any benefit to be derived from the use of the 
movable comb hive. I think, could he have taken a 
peep into the inside of a few swarms just then, and dis- 
covered their condition, he would have been converted; 
but instead, he gave up the bee keeping in disgust, as 
well he might, if he had found by examining his hives 
that one or two pounds of honey per hive would have 
saved the loss of one-fourth of his apiary, it would have 
been a good paying investment. Bees, in this latitude, 
usually commence the rearing of drones as soon as a 
good yield of honey is obtained ; and if the yield is cut 
short, they often destroy them, even to dragging the im- 
mature drone from its cell, which is good evidence that 
they are nearly destitute of stores, or that the yield 
of honey is cut off. At this time they should be 
examined, and if no honey is found, they should be 
freely fed ; but if there is sufficient honey in the hive 
they should be fed daily a little to stimulate them, (See 
stimulise feeding — Chap. VII,) to encourage breeding 
and arrest the slaughter of drones, which often proves 
disastrous to the multiplication of colonies. 

If a colony is over fed, the bees will fill their brood 
combs so as to interfere with the production of young, 
and thus the honey given them is worse than thrown 
away. The prudent apiarian will regard the feeding of 
bees (except the little given by way of encouragement) 



FEEDING BEES. 211 

as an evil to be submitted to only when it cannot be 
avoided, and will much prefer that they should obtain 
their supplies from the field. To build up small colo- 
nies by feeding, requires more .care and judgment than 
any other process in bee culture, and will be rarely re- 
quired of those who use the movable comb hive. It can 
only succeed when everything is made subservient to the 
most rapid production of brood. There is one point 
that is certain in bee keeping — that if a colony is stim- 
ulated carefully in the spring, they and their first swarm 
that issues will have honey sufficient in the fall to winter 
them through, unless the weather proves very unfavor- 
able for the production of honey. 

WATER NECESSARY. 

Water is indispensable to bees when building comb 
or raising brood. They will take advantage of any 
warm day in the spring to bring it to their hives. They 
may be seen drinking around pools, pumps, drains, and 
all moist places. Later in the season they sip the dew 
from the leaves and grass. Every prudent bee keeper 
will see that his bees are supplied with water, by placing 
shallow wooden troughs or vessels filled with straws or 
floats, so that they may drink without danger of drown- 
ing. A location near small bodies of water will be suf- 
ficient for a supply; but locations near large bodies are 
often injurious. 



FARMERS GUIDE TO BEE KEEPING. 



CHAPTER XVII. 

ROBBING AMONG BEES. 

It is instinctive in the nature of the bees for one 
colony to rob another as soon as they can leave their 
hives in the spring. The stronger begin to assail the 
weaker, like some wealthy oppressors in the human 
family, ever eager to prey upon the meagre possessions 
of others. If the marauders who are ever prowling 
about in search of plunder, attack a strong and healthy 
colony, they are usually glad to escape with their lives 
from its resolute defenders. The bee keeper, therefore, 
who neglects to feed his needy colonies and to assist 
such as are weak or queenless, must expect to suffer 
heavy losses from robber bees. They are never inclined 
to rob when there is plenty of honey in the field ; thus 
their instincts lead them to obtain their living honestly 
when they can, forcibly when they must. It is some- 
times difficult for the apiarian to decide which are the 
robber bees ; but with a little practice they may be read- 
ily recognized. They usually fly about the entrance 
and all cracks and flaws in the hive, with their legs 
hanging straight down, and when one alights to gain an 
entrance his guilty, nervous agitation, once seen, can 
never after be mistaken. It does not, like the la- 
borer carrying home the fruits of honest toil, alight 
boldly upon the entrance board, or face the guard, 



ROBBING AMONG BEES. 213 

knowing well that if caught by these trusty sentinels, 
its life would be the forfeit. If it can glide by without 
touching any of the sentinels, those within taking it for 
granted that all is right, permit it to help itself. After 
an entrance has been made into the poorly garrisoned 
hive, and the condition within ascertained, the robbers 
return to their homes and present themselves again with 
additional numbers, which keeps increasing until the 
whole colony is in commotion. The weak colony see- 
ing their helpless condition, immediately join the 
marauders and assist in carrying their own stores to the 
robbers' hive, and themselves become a portion of its 
inmates. This is always the case with those that sur- 
vive after being overpowered. 

A very good method to determine when a swarm 
of bees is being robbed, is to catch a bee that is coming 
out. If it looks larger and plumper than those enter- 
ing the hive, and if you pull the head and thorax from 
the body the first stomach or honey sack will appear 
between the two portions either full or empty : if full, 
it is proof positive that the hive is being robbed, and 
means should be instituted at once to prevent it. Another 
method is to sprinkle a little flour on their backs, and 
have an assistant to watch the other hives to see if they 
enter them ; if they do, all is not right. 

There are many remedies prescribed for this evil 
which I consider worse than the evil itself, and are 
often the cause of it. One is, to move the hive a few 
rods, which is most fatal, as it will soon be found. One 
says, close it up ! and this may cause suffocation to the 



214 FARMERS GUIDE TO BEE KEEPING. 

bees or break out some of the comb in the hive of the 
robbers, and set the honey running, thereby giving them 
work at home. This is a very bad practice, and too 
often indulged in, as it will entice others to the hive, 
and not unfrequently many bees are killed in battle and 
the colony destroyed. When there are a large number 
of stocks in an apiary, and one is robbed, it is not 
usually done by a single colony, but several unite to 
share the plunder. I do not mean to be understood 
that ten stocks in one yard will join to rob one stock in 
another yard. Some persons think that is the case, 
which often prevents them from starting in the bee bus- 
iness ; but no trouble need be apprehended in that 
quarter, if the stocks are always kept strong. A few 
small pieces of camphor gum thrown into the entrance 
will often prevent the robbers from trying to get in; but 
when not effectual I would recommend closing the 
opening by laying a little block in front, so that but one 
or two bees can pass at a time. This will give them a 
better opportunity to defend themselves against the 
marauders and protect their stores. If this is not suf- 
ficient, at night or early in the morning, I would rec- 
ommend that the hive be removed to a cool, dark cel- 
lar, (and ventilated so that the bees will not suffocate) 
for two or three days, when it may be returned to the 
stand. When the hive is moved to the cellar, the en- 
trances to the adjoining hives should be contracted, 
and in fact, when robbing has once commenced, the 
entrance to all hives should be contracted somewhat, 
and every means avoided which will tend to incite rob- 



ROBBING AMONG BEES. 



bing, such as setting dishes of honey or other sweets 
where the bees can get at it, for when once they get a 
taste of it, thev are hard to control thereafter. 



2l6 FARMERS' GUIDE TO BEE KEEPING. 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

TRANSFERRING BEES. 

Transferring is the name given to changing a col- 
ony of bees, combs, and all the contents of a hive from 
one to another. It should only be done in the spring 
or summer, to be successful. Some patent hive venders 
will transfer in the winter, but it is usually attended with 
destruction of the colony. If the yield of honey is 
large from the apple blossoms, then is a good time for 
transferring, care being taken to feed them a little when 
days occur that they cannot gather honey from the 
flowers. I have usually had the best success to first 
stimulate the swarm that I wish to transfer, so that they 
may throw off an early swarm ; and on the day that the 
second swarm issues, if they do swarm a second time, I 
transfer them and put the second swarm with them in 
the hive and return them to the old stand. If they do 
not cast a second swarm in thirteen days after the first 
one issues, I transfer them then. In either case the 
most of the brood is hatched and the cells are filled 
with honey, which I throw out with the honey extractor 
as I remove the combs, before putting them into the 
new hive, thus giving the queen an opportunity to re- 
plenish the stock rapidly with brood ; and I can put 
in more comb when it is not filled with honey so as to 
settle down. Transferring may be done at any time of 



TRANSFERRING BEES. 21 7 

the day, if it is pleasant, I prefer the middle or latter 
part of the day instead of the fore part. The best place 
to make the transfer is in some shaded locality, a few 
rods from the stand, or in some clean building. For 
the operation it will be necessary to have a few tools in 
readiness — such as a box the size of the hive and about 
one foot deep, for a driving box, an axe, a saw, a large 
knife, some twine, some goose quills, a dish of water to 
wash the honey from your hands, and a few dishes to 
put the honey and pieces of comb in ; also some kind 
of table or bench should be arranged to lay the combs 
upon, and everything is in readiness. 

The swarm to be treated should have tobacco smoke 
blown in among them, not only to drive the bees up 
among the comb, but also to subdue them. The hives 
should be removed to the place of transfer, placing 
another as near like it as possible on the old stand, for 
a decoy, that the returning bees may not join other 
hives and perhaps be killed. Invert the hive, and place 
over it the driving box, wrap a piece of cloth or a sheet 
around where the two join, to prevent the escape of 
bees. Procure two round sticks about fifteen inches 
long and one inch in diameter, with these commence 
beating the sides of the hive for a few minutes ; then 
stop about five minutes to allow the bees to fill them- 
selves with honey ; then commence beating again for 
ten minutes, by which time nearly all the bees will have 
left the hive and clustered in the box. The sheet may 
be taken off and spread on the ground or floor, and 
the driving box set upon it, the same side up as when 



2l8 farmers' guide to bee keeping. 

on the hive, and a small stick placed under one side to 
allow the air to enter. With a long knife loosen the 
edges of the comb from two sides of the hive, and with 
an axe split the sides off, that the combs may be taken 
out whole. As the combs are removed, the scattering 
bees may be brushed down by the side of the driving box, 
when they will readily join the colony. Lay the comb 
upon the table, and over it place the frame. Cut the 
comb a trifle larger than the frame so that it will fit in 
tightly ; observing always to have it the same side up in 
the new hive that it was in the old. While cutting the 
comb the brood should all be saved with a little honey, 
—too much honey often causes the combs to settle in 
the frames. After the comb is fitted in, it may be se- 
cured in its place by tying around the frame a piece of 
cotton twine, until the bees fasten it in with wax, as 
they will do in a day or two. The frame may now be 
hung in the new hive ; continue the same treatment 
with the other combs, until all of the good worker 
comb is secured, leaving out all drone comb. If a 
comb is a little crooked, it may be straightened by cut- 
ting the comb half way across, even if it is filled with 
brood. Care should be taken when the frames are 
placed in the hive to have the brood occupy as compact 
a position as possible in the centre of the hive, so that 
the bees can cluster over it. If any pieces of comb re- 
main that are too small to fill the frame from top to bot- 
tom, they may be placed in the top, and held there 
by putting a small stick under them, either letting it 
into the end pieces by cutting small notches, or by 



TRANSFERRING BEES. 219 

tying a string around to hold the stick in place. Should 
there not be sufficient comb to fill all the frames, the 
balance should be put in — the hive empty at one side 
or on both sides of the combs, and in a few days 
changed to the centre of the hive between the full 
frames. A cover should be put over them — either the 
honey boxes turned over on the side so that the bees 
cannot enter them, or they may be covered with paper 
or cloth, or with anything that will confine the warmth 
below. The hive now being in readiness for the bees, 
they may be put in, the same as in hiving a natural 
swarm, and be placed back upon the old stand, with 
the entrance contracted, and the ventilators left open 
during the heat of the day. 

In about two days they will have the combs fas- 
tened in their places, when the strings may be cut loose 
and drawn out and the boxes put on. If the bee keeper 
has other stocks in the movable comb hive, it would be 
well to give the swarm just transferred one or two frames 
with combs, if there is room, and thus build them up 
strong ; and in two or three days you will find them 
working just as well as though they had not been forced 
to vacate their old domicile. In transferring, I would 
caution the bee keeper against transferring all his stocks 
in one day, if he has more than two or three and if set 
near together. It is much better to take two or three 
days for it, and select from different parts of the apiary, 
instead of commencing at one end of a row of hives 
and transferring in rotation ; the bees loosing their old 
home are set in a terrible commotion and often become 



2 20 FARMERS GUIDE TO BEE KEEPING. 

bewildered. If the adjoining hives are not disturbed 
there will not be much difficulty in their being mixed 
up with other hives. It is also essential in transferring, 
that it be done as quickly as possible, that the eggs and 
unhatched brood may not become chilled. The in- 
structions I have given are sufficient for the inexperi- 
enced, by carefully studying them, to successfully go 
through with the operation, and without any danger as 
to the result. 



CONCLUSION. 



CHAPTER XIX. 

CONCLUSION. 



In conclusion, I would urge all who keep bees, or 
who are about to enter upon apiarian pursuits, to study 
the subject well. This is highly important in order to 
attain to perfect success. It has been said that a part of 
those who commence bee keeping must fail ; but we 
must suppose that the cause of failure arises from ignor- 
ance and inattention, and is not wholly the fault of the 
bees. To the beginner, then, I would say, if you expect 
to succeed you must give heed to these two maxims : — 
First, see your bees often and have a thorough knowl- 
edge at all times of their condition. This one maxim 
is of more worth than all others that can be given ; it 
stands at the head of all the duties of the apiarian. 
Second, keep your stocks strong, is the grand secret 
of success against all their enemies. With proper and 
persevering application of the above maxims, you can- 
not fail to realize all your expectations. 

Many persons, after reading the elaborate treaties 
that are written in the interest of some patent bee hive, 
are often induced to enter into the business with very 
visionary prospects as to increase and profit. Elated 
with the extraordinary increase of stocks some one has 
made, they rush into it with a will, to very soon dis- 
cover that failure and disappointment are the only re. 



222 FARMERS GUIDE TO TEE KEEPING. 

wards of their labor, and this, by attempting to increase 
their stocks at a too rapid rate, and forgetting the good 
old maxim, " keep your stocks strong.*' I would 
also advise the beginner to avoid over anxiety for a 
rapid increase, and be satisfied with one good swarm 
from a stock annually; your chances of future success 
will be better than with a sudden increase of numbers. 
By following the methods as given in this manual, your 
stocks will easily double each year, thus increasing in a 
few years to an almost incredible extent. 

Within the last thirty years apiculture has made 
rapid progress, both in this and in the old country; and 
is yielding, to-day, double the income to the apiarian, 
with far less capital than any other branch of rural in- 
dustry. We are pleased too see the scientific world 
engaged in apiculture ; we are also gratified that the fair 
ladies of our land are turning their attention thitherward. 
At the " North American Bee Keepers' Association," 
which convened at Cleveland, Ohio, Dec. 6th, 1871, 
there were present the most prominent bee keepers from 
nearly every State and Territory in the Union. It is 
cheering to state that nearly one-eighth of the number 
were ladies, and some of them were reported our most 
successful apiarians. There appears to be a general in- 
terest manifest throughout our entire land. Ladies and 
gentlemen of talent and refinement are to-day making 
apiculture a great success. Their feelings have become 
assimulated with that of rural life, and they are ena- 
bled to enjoy and appreciate the invigorating influence. 
of pure and wholesome air. The farmer lias the pledge 



CONCLUSION. 2 23 

that forevermore there shall be seed time and harvest ;. 
here is his dependence ; here lies his confidence. So, 
too, with apiculture ; when the earth is made to yield 
its bountiful crops the blossoms will elaborate their de- 
licious nectar in abundant quantities. This the prac- 
tical apiarian fully understands. 

To the reader, I would say, if you have a natural 
taste for the business, and are willing to study the sub- 
ject thoroughly and practice what you learn, engage in 
bee keeping. I know of no other pursuit that will 
afford such generous returns, if the requisite amount 
of care and attention are given to it ; nor are the bene- 
fits to be derived altogether of a pecuniary nature. 
What pursuit can be named that engages the attention 
of our people, that is better calculated to strengthen our 
better nature, and lead us to admire the wisdom and 
goodness of Him who created all things ? In view of 
the achievements which have been wrought in the past, 
and of what may be accomplished in the future, let us 
press nobly forward, giving our best energies to our de- 
lightful avocation, until it shall occupy the position it 
merits among the other industries of our nation. 



THE END. 



INDEX. 



PAGE. 

Apiary, 89 

Alsike Clover, 101 

Apiary, Bees to Stock, ' 94 

Bee Keeping, Fundamental Points in 7 

Bees, what constitute a Swarm of 8 

Box Hives, How to Make 82 

Bee Pasturage, 96 

Blackberry, 99 

Basswood or Linden, 99 

Borage, 100 

Buckwheat, 102 

Covers for Hives, 93 

Clover, White 98 

" Red 101 

" Alsike 101 

Catnip, 100 

Combs, 179 

" How Made, 181 

" Empty, Value of 1S4 

" Cells, Uniform in Size, 182 

" Artificial, 184 

'* How to reduce to Wax, 185 

Conclusion, 221 

Drones, 34 

Drone Cells, 183 

Dysentery, 203 



Diseased or Foul Brood, 204 

Eggs, Hatching of 15 

Enemies of Bees, 197 

Feeding, Stimulative,. 114 

Feeding Bees, , . 20S 

Huber, the Prince of Apiarians, 5 

Hive, 51 

Defects of 52 

Movable Comb 56 

Size of 62 . 

Simple Movable Comb 69 

Common Box 80 

Non-swarming 84 

Observatory 87 

Hives, Distance Between 41 

• c All Alike, 63 

" Shallow vs. Tall, 64 

" As used by the Author , 66 

" Directions for Making 6§ 

Stands for 92 

" Covers for 93 

Honey Dews, 104 

Honey, Gathering and Storing 107 

Hiving, Methods of = 123 

" All should be made to Enter, 12S 

" Set on the Stand, 128 

" Shade, Important 130 

Italian or Ligurian Bee, 37 

Italian Bee, Preserve Purity of , 38 

" Queens, Rearing of 39 

Italianize an Apiary, 47 

" Box Hive, 48 

" Another Method, 49 ' 

Large yields of Honey, 176 

Loss of Bee,s by Flight, 131 



Ill INDEX. 

Movable Comb Hives 56 

44 u Advantage over Box Hive, 57 

Mell Extractor, 170 

" Advantage of 171 

" How Constructed 172 

" u How Used 174 

Pollen, Gathering and Storing, 109 

Propollis Gathering and its Use, 1 1 1 

Qjjeen, Description of 9 

" Affection for 10 

Age of 11 

Depositing the Eggs, 12 

" Impregnation of 19 

" Artificial Impregnation of 24 

Drone Progeny 2^> 

•' Wailings of 27 

44 Virgin 2S 

' 4 Fertile or Prolific . 2S 

" A Barren 28 

Queen Cell, Construction of 17 

Queens, How Introduced 45 

14 Loss of 157 

Raspberry, 98 

Robbing among Bees 212 

Surplus Boxes 73 

44 Two Sets at Once 7 s 

Swarming, Remarks on 145 

Swarming, ....... .. 113 

44 When Commences 114 

Why do They? 116 

44 Signs of 117 

14 Delay in 1 iS 

44 Which Bees form New Swarm 120 

Swarms, issuing of 121 

Return to Parent Stock 133 



Swarms Two or More Cluster Together, 134 

" After or Casts 136 

" How to Unite 139 

: ' How to Prevent 141 

" Queens in After 142 

" Artificial 145 

(: How to Make with Box Hive 147 

" One from Two 14S 

" Made Easy with Movable Comb Hive, 150 

An Easy Method, 151 

" New Way of 154 

Surplus Honej', Modes of Securing 161 

" Glass Boxes Preferable 162 

" Honey, how to Remove .... 163 

" Boxes on New Swarms, 164 

" " How to Secure from Worms. 165 

Honey in Jars, 166 

" " in Large or Small Boxes, 16S 

Tulip or Whitewood, 100 

Transferring Bees, 216 

Worker Bee 29 

Wintering Bees, 187 

u On Summer Stands, 193 

" Other Methods, 194 

Ventilation Upward, Necessary, 191 



C. C. VANDEUSEN'S 

BEE FEEDER 

Patented July 8th, 1870. 



The Best Feeder For Winter or Summer, ever In- 
vented. 



I give a few of its desirable features, which will readily be understood 

and appreciated by intelligent Bee Keepers who have practiced any oi" the 
old methods of feeding- : 

Tt is perfectly simple in construction and operation. 

Being made of tin it is very durable, as there is no wood to check or 
warp, and no cloth for the bees to gnaw out, if left empty on the hive. 

It does not ventilate the hive, and as the bees remove the feed from the 
under side, it may be used in the coldest weather with perfect success. 

It works equally well with thick honey or very this syrup, as it depends 
on the principle of 

ATMOSPHERIC PRESSURE 

to retain the feed. 

Bees confined to the hive may be fed by setting the feeder on wire cloth. 

It is adapted to any style of hive, and may be used, if desired, while the 
surplus boxes are on. 

This feeder is used and recommended by many of the largest and best 
apiarians in this country, — one person having used FIVE HUNDRED 
since its first introduction, — and all speak of it in the highest terms. 

Read tlie Follo>ving > : 

Any one wanting a Feeder for his bees, (and those who make the most 
out of them, must have one,) cannot find one more simple, convenient, or 
efficient, than the one offered by C. C. Van Densen Have used a 
great many kinds. 

M. QUINBY. 

St. Johnsville, N. Y., April 4th, 1S71. 



PRICE X-.IST: 

One Sample Feeder, by mail, post paid $0 r*. 

Individual Right — to make and use any number in one apiary... 3 00 

Individual Rit^ht and One Doz. Feeders by express 5 00 

County and Town Rights on reasonable terms. Agents wanted. 

Remittanced money will be required in advance on all orders, and 1 
guarantee satisfaction in every case. Give FULL address in every letter. 

For Circulars, terms to agents, &c , address 

C. C. VANDEUSEN, 

Sprout Brook, 
Montgomery Co., N. Y- 









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